


Finding Pack

by Naferty



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 1700'ish, Age Difference, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anal Sex, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Smut, Eventual mpreg, F/M, Fluff and Angst, He needs a lot of hugs, Healing, Hermaphrodites, Infertility, Insecure Tony, Intersex, Knotting, M/M, Mpreg, Oral Sex, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Past Tony whump, Protective Avengers, Protective Steve, Recovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Shifters, Slow Build, Team as Family, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Whump, Tony-centric, Updating tags as I go, Vaginal Sex, a lot of jumping from fluff and angst, inaccurate history, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:12:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 151,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6217717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naferty/pseuds/Naferty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where pack means everything from status to fame to survival and to family, newly pack-less Tony Stark is trying to survive after those he once trusted betrayed him, and starting over by searching for a new pack to take him in, but with his age and status weighing heavily on his shoulders finding someone to take a chance on him might be easier said than done. </p><p>What pack wanted an old infertile omega in their ranks? Certainly not the famous Avengers pack led by the equally famous Captain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hit the Road

**Author's Note:**

> I got an itch to write this and hopefully it won't be long, but knowing me it's probably going to pass the 20k mark. I needed a fluffy insecuretony-centric fic with the avengers cuddling him after this whole civil war stuff happening, and since I usually make mpreg out of my ships Stony was due to get mpregged, so here we go.
> 
> Here's a short intro to get you into the idea of how pack works here.

Tony always remembered walking past the shacks during trips where his entire (ex)pack traveled together across the land. They would travel through territories in order to show off some new merchandise to possible clients and sign contracts to supply the packs with weapons and more. That was how Hammer’s pack (not Tony’s, never again Tony’s) gained wealth and status for being a reliable supplier of top-notch weapons. Of course most of those weapons were created by, yours truly, Tony, but with Tony being an omega and the pack being led by Hammer, naturally, Hammer gained all the credit, leaving Tony to forever be known only as his omega.

Which was fine by Tony. The Hammer taking all the credit part, not being Hammer’s omega. Never that. Tony was fine and dandy with Hammer’s name branded on the muskets and pistols. He didn’t want his name on anything so outdated as those weapons. His rune-infused weapons that blasted power, gained durability, and used elemental advantage, however, now _that_ he would mark, print and paint his name all over. Runes were true potential. They were the future. It was only a darn shame, and _extremely_ reassuring if Tony was honest, that only a few number of shifters were able to work with runes. A certain magical quality was required in order for a shifter to manipulate the natural magic that rested in runes, and it just so happened that Tony had this magical quality that he tried his hardest to keep secret.

Hammer knew of his ability, obviously, thanks to Obie, and Obie naturally knew because he helped raise him from a young age. Both alphas always looking for opportunities they saw the potential his ability and skills had and pushed and pushed him to make rune weapons. He held back for as long as he could, created mundane things not worth mentioning, and purposefully took weeks that extended into months to buy himself time, but eventually he'd wear out. Old and broken and worn he gave in and his rune gauntlets came to be. He was pushed to try something new, something never before seen, and when he presented the gauntlets to Hammer and Obie and got their approval he had felt on top of the world for the first time in years. That was until they used the gauntlets to hurt him and what he believed.

He never looked back when he snuck away during the night with his gauntlets in his bag.

And now here Tony stood among the many shacks that temporarily housed pack-less betas and omegas, but _never_ alphas. The moment an alpha became pack-less all they had to do was simply start another one by propositioning the many betas and omegas desperate for a place.

These shacks were free for the taking. If you were lucky enough to find an empty one. They were designed to give pack-less shifters a safe place to gather and a chance to get recruited by any wandering packs that were in need of members or were just passing by and liked a shifter enough to add them.

Tony always saw these shacks during his travels with his ex-pack and he remembered always giving the shifters pitying looks. A shifter without a pack was hardly anything at all on their own. Pack was everything for them. A home, a status, wealth, a _family_ , a place to belong. He always had a pack and could never imagine how life would've been without it. Now he guessed it was time to start learning. He was among the betas and omegas without a place to be.

“You said there was an empty shack here?” Tony communicated through growls and barks. Words clear but accompanied by a gruff tone.

The feathery white umbrella cockatoo that was currently resting on his back squawked, ruffled his feathers and nodded before taking off and flying towards the direction of the shack. Since he was in his wolf form it was easy for him to chase after the bird and keep up. He spotted the cockatoo resting on the roof of a brown and worn out shack, bouncing his head up and down and flapping his wings.

Tony sniffed around the shack to make sure it was truly empty. Besides the scent of an inhabitant that had recently used the shack, it smelled earthy with a mix of rust and rotten wood. Satisfied that no other shifter was sleeping and would pounce him the moment he placed a paw inside he pushed the door open and circled the shack a couple of times. He dropped the wolf-bag he was carrying on his back that had his clothes and gauntlets and a few coins on the center of the floor before curling up around it. When it came to traveling and sleeping in the outdoors or in shacks being in wolf form was easier and comfier than being in human form, especially when the ground was used as a bed. Easier on his bones.

The bag under him shifted, something inside moving and causing Tony’s hind legs to lift up before sinking down again and out rolled a little mechanical ball that opened a latch at the top to reveal a small head with two blue lights as eyes and a yellow rune glowing on it's ‘forehead.’ The ball chirped at him, moving back and forth to express its concern. Tony snorted and patted the head gently with his paw.

The sound of flapping wings and a thud signaled the arrival of the cockatoo and seconds later he felt the talons of the bird scratching along his back, stopping right over his shoulders. The ball made more noise before rolling closer to Tony and embracing his belly. Tony huffed at this and curled in further to surround the ball. He huffed again when he felt the bird pressing on his fur in order to form a nest before cuddling in. “Thank you, Jarvis,” he said once the bird was settled.

“You’re welcome, Sir,” Jarvis whistled.  

“Good night, Jarvis. Vision.”

“Good night, Sir.”

Vision chirped before the two blue lights dimmed and disappeared. The yellow rune still glowing on his head.

Tony didn’t think he would have a good night, considering what was to come the following morning. After this night his search for a new pack began and the odds of that happening were not in his favor. For one he had age against him. He was in his forties and not exactly the healthiest he's ever been. Well past his physical usefulness to the pack when it came to fighting, or even traveling. He could hardly walk long distances without getting winded now or carry heavy weights without straining his back. On top of that, he was also an omega and omegas were typically used to show-off as a prize or mother hen the pack. On rare occasions, omegas could join along the pack in battles but usually the pack preferred having the omegas safe and sound and away from the danger.

Because of his age and health and scarring he wasn’t in his prime to be showed off, so that marked him off to any alphas wanting a prize. He also never had any experience being a den mother since Hammer’s pack weren’t exactly keen on wanting to be mothered. His years voided of workmanship also prevented him from physically working long hours now. That only left him with one last purpose and that was breeding, and even then it wasn’t an option he could do. For as long as he could remember he had been infertile. Every time Hammer tried to impregnate him it never stuck. No matter what he took, what nasty concoction that promised to aid in pregnancy, how many times Hammer attempted, he remained barren. And it wasn’t Hammer that was sterile. The moment he shared a night with the newest and youngest omega of the pack there was already a future Hammer in the making by the next morning.

So really it was Tony at fault.

He had nothing to offer for whatever pack took pity on him, nothing but his rune weapons, and even then he wouldn't create any for fear of them being misused. He had no future and figured he would spend the rest of his life living in shacks after shacks, traveling alone with a cockatoo on his back, a little machine in his bag and being the lone omega no pack wanted.

It didn’t sound like a bad life. Perhaps his life expectancy would suffer from living out in the wilds and the possibility of becoming feral could be a real issue, but as long as he was away from Hammer and Obi he’d take anything life would throw at him. Besides, he had Jarvis and Vision. He wasn’t going to be completely alone, just pack-less. He could survive that.


	2. The Cockatoo and The Machine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more information. Next chapter things will finally start happening~

Contrary to Tony’s belief, he did have some fond memories with his old pack. That was to say he didn’t have them _with_ the pack, he had them while being part of the pack. One fond memory on the top of the list for him was when Jarvis was hatched. Tony had no idea about what species the egg incubated or how to take care of an egg or what to do with the bird if by some miracle he managed to keep the egg safe enough for the bird inside to survive.

The egg was given to him by Rhodey as a gift. A white oval with brown spots that needed Tony to cup his hands together in order to hold it. It wasn’t a normal bird, Rhodey said as much. He didn’t reveal the species but he did say that the bird was unique, was a person in its own right, and extremely loyal to those who earned its respect. To this day Tony couldn’t figure out what he did in order to win Jarvis’ respect but the fair sized cockatoo, that should really be considered a giant owl since he took up Tony’s entire shoulder and stood taller than his head, refused to leave his side. When Rhodey handed Jarvis over he failed to mention Jarivs was a species of bird beyond the sea, wasn’t like any of the umbrella cockatoos around the area, was smarter than ravens, crows and even jays, and had the ability to learn _languages_ and have complicated thought process.

Jarvis wasn’t an ordinary bird. He learned that quickly.

When Tony first held the egg he had panicked. He didn’t know the first thing about taking care of a helpless infant, didn’t plan on ever taking care of an infant, but taking care of an egg that later became a blind, pink, twitching body that required food? Tony shoved the box incubating the egg back at Rhodey but his friend refused to take it. It was a gift and you don’t return gifts, Rhodey had said so. He also said he believed in Tony and knew he would take care of the egg as if it was the most important thing in his life… and he had been right. Tony was reluctant, but he accepted the gift and he’d be damned if he didn’t at least _try_. He wasn’t going to just leave the egg somewhere under a tree or on the corner of Hammer’s room.

Those fifteen days of taking care of that egg were the most terrifying fifteen days of Tony’s life, but when he first saw the egg shell crack and the chirping from the baby cockatoo he knew he had to do everything within his power to make sure the baby bird grew up healthy and cared for. He expected the bird to fly away for freedom the moment he learned how to, but he hadn't expected for Jarvis to find a permanent spot on his shoulder instead, or for Jarvis to act as his second set of eyes, for both the ground and the sky.

He had gotten so used to the cockatoo Tony couldn’t remember how his life had been without him. Tony loved the cockatoo and he figured the cockatoo loved him back. The bird had stayed by his side for the past twenty years. Surely there was a reason for it. Jarvis was a memory he was never going to forget.

Another fond memory he had was when Vision first beeped and rolled, signalling he was ‘alive’ and kicking, thanks to the yellow rune Tony had used on him. The little red, green and yellow machine was made from scraps of metal he had collected and modified to both be strong and durable while at the same time to be light enough for Vision to roll away from danger if he needed to. Though the machine refused to stay more than ten feet away from Tony. On top of that he made a permanent home in Tony’s bag. Wherever Tony went he was pressured into carry his bag, otherwise he was going to have a very annoyed machine following after him and beeping constantly, and one thing Hammer absolutely hated was the irritatingly high pitched noise Vision created. Tony wasn’t going to give Hammer a reason to take and sell Vision like he had always wanted to.

So this was Tony Stark when he traveled. He was the one who, wolf or human, walked or rode a carriage with a giant umbrella cockatoo on his shoulder and carried a bag that had a lump inside with the head of a machine poking out.

Even now as he left the pack and was temporarily living in the shacks Jarvis and Vision remained by his side. Jarvis had reason now more than ever to leave his side with Tony being packless and unable to provide the cockatoo with a home. The same went with Vision, especially since Tony couldn’t afford to buy the necessary items for upgrades, and only the great deities of the sky knew how long it would take for a pack to take Tony in. They were going to live on the road for quite some time.

One week of living in the shacks and Tony was honestly surprised that Jarvis and Vision were putting up with the packless arrangement instead of hightailing it out of there and searching for a competent owner to take care of them. At least for Vision. Jarvis could probably go and survive on his own in the wilds, find a place in the forest that had plentiful fruits and seeds and have a banquet instead of competing with the residential birds near the shacks for a small meal.

It was survival of the fittest, but in Tony’s case especially so. He may have been old but that didn’t mean Tony wasn’t light on his feet. He wasn’t walking around with a stick and he wasn’t sitting for hours on end nursing his tired bones. He could still run, he just wasn’t the fastest compared to all these shifters with less years on their backs, and he couldn't last long chasing prey with the way his chest constricted. He could also still hunt, sort of. He could hunt as well as a wolf shifter could hunt on his own with his health issues, but considering he was hunting in territory occupied by dozens and dozens of young, packless shifters who already caught their game and scared the rest away, Tony was lucky if he managed to catch three rabbits.

It was something at least. He just wished he had thought beforehand to grab the seasonings and spices to give the meat the extra taste to it. While he loved the bloody and raw flavor of a newly killed rabbit or deer like any other shifter, Tony favored the cooked option that gave crunchy results or came in a soup with vegetables or, hell, was just salted. Personally, he thought the food tasted better when eaten on two legs. Then again it could be his biased side talking. He preferred his human side more than his wolf side. Humans had opposable thumbs and him being a tinker of course he was going to prefer the side of him that had full mobility of his fingers and was capable of grabbing things.

Which was the reason why he was currently walking around the common area near the shacks in his human form. He wasn’t the only one _not_ shifted, but the ratio of wolves to humans was large in number so he counted himself as being unique for walking on his two feet. Then again it was currently early in the morning and the land still hadn’t been warmed up to a reasonable temperature yet so that probably played a part in why there were more wolves. Fur was always better in keeping out the cold. Still, he considered himself unique and no one was going to take that from him.

No one, except for this other shifter who was determined to stick to his two legs and never show the rest of the shack inhabitants his wolf. Tony had took notice of him on the first day living in the shacks. He fidgeted and twitched and preferred solitude unlike the rest of the betas and omegas who were trying to get as much of a feeling of pack as possible and made friends. This shifter, this  _omega_ (Tony figured once he got close enough to sniff him), didn’t even try to talk to anyone and the rest seemed just as firm to keep away from him, walking around eggshells.

At first Tony thought nothing of it, seeing as many of the shifters around here were young and looked to be avoiding the older generation, but when he compared the shifters ignoring him to the shifters ignoring the twitchy omega he found it was a different avoidance all together. The other shifters completely ignored the omega, as if desperately pretending he wasn’t there, but with Tony they at least acknowledge him for a split second before they go on their merry way.

The omega must have done something outlandish to have caused all the shifters to furiously pretend he didn't exist, and Tony was curious to find out what. Besides, the other omega looked around Tony’s age, so if not for the sake of finding out the truth, at least he had someone who was in the same predicament as him to talk to. If Tony was going to live the rest of his life pack-less the least he could do was make companions and keep them until they leave him behind for their new pack and new home.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Tony said, encouraging himself.

“Do you think it wise, Sir?” Jarvis asked from his spot on Tony’s shoulder as he twitched his head back and forth from Tony to the omega sitting down on one of the many tables decorating the common area.

“Probably not, but how will I play nice with the other kids if I don’t at least try and talk to them?”

“Considering the ages required to be called a child I highly doubt this to be ‘playing nice with the other kids.’”

Tony clutched his chest. “Attacking me right at my age. You wound me, Jarvis. You have no love for the elderly.”

“Forgive me. I’ll keep in mind to show affection for the elderly when I come face to face with one.”

“Is that your way of saying I’m young? Because I’m taking it and I accept your apology and your compliment.”

“I am truly honored.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you. What ever happened to my baby Jarvis that had manners and respected me? Who taught you sarcasm?”

“I believe you did, Sir,” Jarvis said with a whistle and a flap of his wings, smacking Tony on the side of his head and causing his hair to bounce.

From the bag hanging on his side from a strap that went from his shoulder down to his waist Vision popped out and beeped at them.

“Hush you,” Tony scolded. “See that? Now Vision is doing it. You’re a bad influence.”

“I am heartbroken by your disapproval.”

“See that you are. Just for that you’re getting extra hours on Vision-duty. I’m putting you in charge of Vision during my hunt and for the rest of the day.”

“While I shake in anticipated fear, Sir, I feel I should inform you the omega sitting before you has been trying to gain your attention since arriving.”

Tony blinked and found, huh, that Jarvis had been right. During their little talk he had ended up walking right up to the table of the lone omega shifter and had just stood there, bickering with the cockatoo as the other omega watched in… amusement? He was smiling, covering his mouth with his hand but Tony could still see the corners of his mouth facing upward. That was a good start.

“Don’t mind me,” said the omega. “It’s just that you three walked up to my table without warning and looked to be having a very serious conversation. Maybe you should sit down for it.”

“Right, huh, if you don’t mind?”

The omega shrugged and gestured at the empty space. “If you don’t mind being seen with me go right ahead.”

That was an opening if Tony ever saw one. It was his chance. “Is there a reason for that? For everyone avoiding you, I mean,” he asked as he sat in front of the other omega.

Even though his body tensed up the omega must have expected the question. He gave a forced smile and reserved eyes, as if practiced. On his shoulder Tony could feel Jarvis hunching and slowly puffed up his feathers, preparing himself for anything.

“Let’s just say my shift isn’t exactly welcoming or what’s expected of an omega to look like.”

That didn’t exactly give anything for Tony to go on but it didn’t appear as if the omega was going to share any more than that so for now he decided to leave it alone. Instead he reached out a hand to shake. If they weren’t going to introduce themselves as wolves, might as well do it in the human way. “Tony,” he paused briefly, debating on which surname to include. It had been years since the last time he presented himself as a Stark. Now, since there was no Hammer, this would be the first social step to freedom. He could do this. He could. "Tony Stark." 

The omega hesitated before reaching out to carefully grasp the hand. “Bruce Banner.”

“Nice to meet you, Bruce. This little feathery menace on my shoulder is Jarvis,” Tony pointed at the cockatoo.

Jarvis whistled and turned his head to look at Bruce with one eye. “Pleasure, Mister Banner.”

Bruce looked amazed for a moment, probably surprised that a cockatoo had such good manners. “He’s not a cockatoo from around these parts, is he?”

“No,” Tony grinned. “He’s from across the sea, but really he’s an entire species of his own. With the attitude that comes out he should be a person in his own right.”

Jarvis turned to him. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Sir.”

“Amazing,” Bruce said. “I’ve seen a few cockatoos here and there but none of them compare to you, and you’re, what? A good six inches taller than most?”

“Trust me, this one is nothing like the cockatoos from this side of the world,” Tony couldn’t prevent the pride coloring his words and he didn’t want to. Besides most of his creations and inventions, Jarvis was someone alive, flesh and bone, that he took care of and didn’t screw up. It gave Tony hope that, if he had ever been given a chance, perhaps he wouldn’t have failed much as a parent as he believed himself to, as much as Hammer and Obi said he would.

Before he could continue to gush on Jarvis and tell Bruce about all of the cockatoo’s achievements a very irritated chirp sounded from his bag and an annoyed machine rolled to bump against him.

“All right, no need to snap at me.” Tony reached inside and grabbed Vision’s circular body from the base before lifting him up and placing him on the table. “Vision, this is Bruce. Bruce I’d like you to meet this hunk of metal whose mission in life is to give me bruises, formally known as Vision, but I might rename him as Abuse.”

Vision chirped and lulled his head in a circular motion as a greeting. As for Bruce, the moment Vision came into, well, vision, Bruce had snapped his attention to the little machine, calculating in his head what exactly he was seeing. Tony recognized that look anywhere. It was the look of someone trying to break something down into variables and piecing them together in order to understand them and how they worked. Bruce was obviously a man of science and Tony just knew he was going to get along with the other omega just fine. He didn’t even care for the reason why every other shifter was avoiding him.

“Is that?” Bruce studied Vision up and down. “That’s a rune and this is metal moving without assistance. So the rune is playing a huge part in this. Does Vision ever fall into the metal equivalent of sleep? How exactly is his behavior and how was it triggered? Does the rune ever run out of power? What is the source of his noise? What -”

Tony stopped him before he could continue. Bruce was definitely a man of science. “Slow down there. Take a breath. I’m all for questions for the sake of science but I’d rather not talk about this out in the open, if it’s fine with you.”

Understanding dawned on the other omega’s face and he nodded. “If you don’t mind me scaring away any potential pack-less companions.”

“They’re already avoiding me as it is. I don’t think you’ll be scaring anyone away from me, honestly,” Tony stood, taking Jarvis and Vision with him. “Your shack, or mine?”

“You have more company. I’d say yours. Better to stay in familiar territory,” even though he had said this Tony could notice how anxious Bruce had become. There was a fear of something engraved there. Perhaps his old pack was the reason for it, or perhaps it was learned from experience of living in the shacks. Tony didn’t know how long Bruce had stayed here or how neglectful or physically violent the treatments could have gone behind doors. All he knew was a protective instinct flared up in him and he might as well should offer to share a shack together for their makeshift-pack they were completely unaware were making.

Tony, Jarvis, Vision and Bruce. That was an improvised pack Tony could live off. Even after Bruce gets recruited to an actual pack and leave the shacks Tony could go on with the cockatoo and the machine. Yes, that could work.

“How about we stay here and use big words to throw any eavesdroppers off? I can be very creative,” Tony offered. “Jarvis can keep an eye out and warn us when someone is getting too close.”

“Oh, you won’t have to worry about that. No one will be getting close to this particular table.”

“All the better. We won’t have to posture around and puff out our chests.”

“Sir,” Jarvis interrupted, “I believe Vision is attempting to roll off the table and I feel I should warn you there are stones located where he wishes to land.”

Tony almost flew across the table in his mad dash to grab the machine before he took the final roll over the edge. While he made it so that Vision’s body was durable against anything that hit him he still preferred that no unnecessary dents and scratches be taken.

“You are going to give me a heart attack,” he growled at the unapologetic machine.

For his efforts he received a bunch of beeps and chirps that could only be interpreted as sass coming from the machine. At least that had Bruce laughing at their interactions. That was a plus.

As Bruce asked questions about the cockatoo and the machine and Tony answered as much as he could without revealing his involvement with the rune on Vision he looked back to the moment the two first came into his life. They were fond memories Tony was never going to forget and were on the top of his list of good things to happen to him.

There was also something else he remembered from time to time. There wasn’t exactly anything incredible that occurred in it or anything good that came from it besides making Tony feel as if he was worth something.

It had happened some years back. Before Jarvis and long before Vision. Hammer had taken the pack through a town on their way for a business exchange and saw a chance to make quick coin with the local blacksmith. Hammer had swindled his way into selling faulty pistols for a price worth more than what those damn pistols deserved, but if one thing Hammer was best known for besides his brand name was his silver tongue and his skill in manipulating situations in his favor. At least that was the case ever since Obie joined the picture and dragged Tony along. Hammer was the brand, but Obadiah was the salesmen. The man behind Hammer's ear.

Tony had walked away from the exchange the moment he realized what would occur. Not wanting to witness the poor soul being nicked from their hard-earned coin. There wasn't much Tony could do to stop Hammer and Obie. He was only an omega after all. Instead he had walked around the town a bit, watching parents and their children and the elderly sitting and enjoying the sun. There were family packs left and right. Packs meant for the folks who didn’t want fame or wealth and only cared for family, raising children and caring for the elderly and keeping an eye out for each other. These were the folks who stayed permanently in one place instead of traveling the lands. They were the reason why towns and cities existed.

Tony was admiring the thought of such a life, trying to imagine himself being a part of it and getting a taste of domesticity he was never going to experience when the sound of a fight interrupted him. He had expected to see two alphas going at it, ripping their throats out and clawing from how intense it sounded, but when he turned he didn’t expect the culprits to be four kids. Three of them going up against one small child that didn’t look to be giving up any time soon. Without even thinking about it Tony had jogged over to them to break up the unfair fight.

“Hey you kids, three against one seems a little overkill, don’t you think?”

The three kids managed to knock the one on the floor and turned to look at him, frowning. One that seemed to be the self-appointed leader scoffed at him. “Stay out of this, _omega_.”

 _Holy sh_ \- that was as much disrespect Tony was going to get from a child, and didn’t that just hit him deep, receiving this treatment because of his orientation.

Tony was unable to say anything back to try and lessen the wound when the one kid the three were going up against knocked the one that insulted Tony down, shouting “Don’t talk to him like that!”

The rude kid and his buddies were about to retaliate when a stern voice called out a name “Will!” and had the bully kids going pale. A fierce looking woman marched right up to them, smelling all kinds of angered beta. “How dare you pick an unfair fight with this child and then have the insolence to disrespect this person like that! You know better than this. Who taught you such manners? Why, when your mother hears about this she will give you a stern talking to and I will not stop her from grounding you for months. The same goes for the rest of you. Your parents will be told about this! To think you three insulted this man and teamed up against Sara's -”

She continued shouting and scolding and after a quick and rushed and downright terrified apology from the kids she dragged them by the ears somewhere away from public eyes for a second set of words. Tony had no idea what had occurred but he figured since he had gotten an apology and the kids were being disciplined everything was solved. All that was missing was the kid who apparently stood up for his honor.

When Tony gave the kid a good look he realized, for someone who couldn’t be older than nine, he was really scrawny, and very much an alpha. He was the smallest nine year old alpha Tony had ever seen, but that didn’t stop him from going up against three shifters so Tony had to admit this alpha had spirit.

“You hurt?” Tony asked for lack of a better thing to say.

The kid sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve. “I’m fine.”

“That was really impressive,” Tony tried, “going up against three. You’ve got guts, kid.”

“Not a kid.”

“You still got guts.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry I couldn’t win.”

Tony waved a hand, not understanding why the kid was even apologizing to him. “No reason to apologize as long as you’re fine.”

“But they were being mean to me and you and I was trying to defend you but I didn’t win.”

Oh, all right, that was unexpected. Tony kneeled down to be somewhat at eye level with the child. “You didn’t have to get into a fight for me. I’m not worth getting into a fight for, trust me, but thanks for defending my honor,” Tony poked the tip of the child's nose playfully.

The kid looked at him, giving him a wide gaze, completely opened, and showed very large blue eyes that made Tony feel exposed. Tony cleared his throat and was about to excuse himself and leave when out of nowhere the child patted his cheek and said “when I’m grown you’re going to be my omega.”

That should _not_ have felt as endearing as it was, but the wide eyes that were looking at him as if he was a treasure, the most prized possession the little alpha could ever have, made Tony almost tear up. It was adorable and childish and made Tony feel _wanted_ , but it was nothing but a spur of the moment thing, and from a kid no less.

Tony decided to just play along instead of making the child feel like a fool. “Is that so? Well, you better grow up fast.”

“I will! I will, wait for me, Mister.” The child was positively glowing now.  

Tony chuckled, “I’ll wait. In the meantime you better get back to your pack and get looked at. Don’t want any broken bones on you.”

“Tony!” Tony flinched and quickly stood up, almost knocking the child over. Hammer was making his way over and he looked frustrated. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you. I’m done here, it’s time to leave this stupid town. The faster the better.”

Tony turned his gaze down. “I was looking around.”

“Time to go,” Hammer growled and marched away, expecting Tony to follow him.

Tony didn’t look at the child as he said “Take care of yourself, kid,” and went after Hammer.

He never found out what happened to the kid. Hammer never took them back to the town, but he figured the child either stayed in the town and continued the family pack he grew up in, found himself a mate and had maybe three or four pups running around, or worst case scenario passed away from unfair fights or from his body giving way. Survival of the fittest, after all.

There were some days where Tony wondered how his life would be like if someone had promised to search for him the same way the child did. Sometimes he wondered if the child would have kept his promise and sought him out when he was old enough to take a mate, but knowing how kids’ minds worked the child probably forgot all about it. Still, what Tony would give to find a mate that stared at him just like that kid had done, stared at him as if he was something to be cherished.

Tony had long past his time to be something worth cherishing, but he could imagine and possibly dream about it instead. It was as close to happiness and worth as he was going to get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. No beta reader so any mistakes you find are mine. 
> 
> Also, in case you're wondering how Vision looks like think of BB8 from Star Wars, except from an ancient era. Vision is a rollipolly machine made from scrap metal that can hide his head inside. If not BB8 than think of the evil robot from the Incredibles.


	3. The Big Guy

Tony found, during the days together with Bruce and building up an unspoken temporary pack bond, Bruce was the best omega friend he never knew he wanted. Bruce was a partner in science crime and a fellow omega who understood the situation they were currently in and the factors that weighed heavily against them. Tony was in his forties and Bruce was one year away from reaching them. They had salt in their hair, lines on their faces, the occasional bad back from sleeping on a hard surface, a past they were desperately trying to avoid (because Bruce was definitely trying to avoid ever bringing up his old pack) and they had a silent agreement they were not meant for the grounded family pack with a mate to support them and their five pups and grandparents to look out for and pack-mates to be the doting aunts and uncles and godparents.

They seemed to have a lot in common. Down from the acceptance to their doomed pack-lessness to their hesitation to even attempt and make themselves visible when a wandering pack made a brief stop near the shacks. What was the point, if they were truly honest with themselves? It wasn’t as if any of the other betas and omegas even gave them a chance at it, always crowding around near the packs to try and give the leader alpha a good look at the potential or try and make small conversation with the pack members to earn points with them.

No, during the month of staying in the shacks there were a total of four packs that traveled through it and each time Tony and Bruce barely caught a glimpse of the members, let alone even managed to see the hair on the leader alpha. The other shifters always blocking the view. There was also the matter that neither Tony or Bruce even tried to get close to the packs, preferring to just remain at their table they had marked as their own and making small talk, asking about the weather and such. Perhaps a brief mention of the pack here and there with a sarcastic remark from Jarvis but then they’d go right back to talking about something casual, such as Vision’s questionable stain on his metallic body that requires Tony to bathe him later on in the day.

So really, walking up to Bruce and getting introduced was perhaps the best thing that Tony could've done. Even Jarvis and Vision seemed to enjoy the other omega’s company. Jarvis having used Bruce’s shoulder in only a short span of two weeks was a surprise. Bruce must have proved something to the cockatoo to have earned his trust since in all the years of living with Hammer not once had Jarvis ever used his shoulder. In fact, Jarvis avoided the alpha as if he was the plague itself. And Vision? Oh, Vision rolled after Bruce any chance he got and bombarded him with beeps and chirps, asking questions after questions. Of course Bruce didn’t understand the machine’s speech patterns yet and required Tony to translate, but he did talk to Vision and treated him as a some _one_ instead of a some _thing_. Now, all three had to enjoy having the omega with them for as long as Bruce remained pack-less, but there was a glimmer of hope for Tony because Bruce didn’t look to be finding a new home anytime soon, or even trying to.

Which was why it didn’t come as a surprise that Bruce was included to their little traveling circle and hardly put up a fight joining them when Tony decided it was time to trade shacks for another further north and located closely to a city. Living in the wilds was fair and doable as a wolf, but since Bruce never shifted and absolutely _refused_ to, making his life unnecessarily difficult, it was only right to get as close to available trade as possible. Have the option of cooked meals and fresh clothes and work for if coin was needed for anything.

Bruce didn’t put up a fight when it came to leaving the shack and traveling with them but he became hesitant when Tony mentioned wanting to head for a northern shack near a city. For one reason or another Bruce didn’t want to get close to populated areas and Tony was willing to bet it was because of his shifted form. At first Tony believed one of the reasons behind it was the other omega wasn’t a _Canine_ Shifter, but in fact was a _Feline_ Shifter, and while both canines and felines had become tolerable and civil with one another there were still those specists older generations that refused to change their ways.

While Tony believed it to be the reason at first he knew it couldn’t possibly be it. For one Bruce smelled nothing like a feline, or any other species, for another the odds of finding a feline shifter living in shacks on this side of the world was near impossible. If anyone became pack-less while in somebody else’s land they would do the natural thing and travel back to their homeland to find another pack.

Bruce being a feline shifter, or any other kind of shifter, was firmly crossed out. There had to be another reason why he was so hesitant about revealing his wolf form. Perhaps his form was bigger, much bigger, than the average omega? Omega wolves were typically smaller than alphas or betas. Alphas were, naturally, the largest with the betas in-between, but sometimes a small alpha managed to squeeze themselves through every once in awhile, and the same went for a few large betas and large omegas.

Bruce being a larger than life omega was Tony’s best guess, but unless Bruce finally decided he trusted enough to show him his shift Tony was never going to know.

And when the day finally came that Tony saw the real reason behind Bruce’s hesitation, well, he couldn’t really blame the guy for behaving the way he had. Tony would’ve done the same thing.

The only reason why Tony was given a chance to see Bruce’s shifted form was because of a late night attack that happened to them. For some reason or another there were packs made for the sole reason of raiding travelers for their items, their coin, to capture and sell as slaves or used as sex slaves, or to just attack and kill for the joy of seeing bloodshed. Tony, in all the years being in Hammer’s pack, had never been a victim of a raid. The pack carried weapons that would be a treasure trove for raiders but the pack also knew how to use the damn things. The items the raiders carried stood no chance against Tony’s pistols. On top of that, besides including pack-mates who had an eye for business, Hammer had gone and searched for the strongest betas around that favored their muscle over their head. Betas to keep the chain of command and prevent any mutiny against the alpha leader and brawn over brain because Hammer didn’t need their input, just their skill in handling a weapon and in a brawl in case the raiders decided to charge in their shifted forms.

The few times they were attacked on the road Tony barely saw a battle ensue. The raiders were either down for the count or were running the other way with their tails between their legs and long gone

The small moments of shock that came from knowing he was under attack from those raiders were nothing compared to the fear he felt when four shifters appeared out of nowhere with pistols and rusty swords. Tony and Bruce had been making camp for the night. Bruce making a little makeshift bed on the grass with a coat he favored wrapping around himself and Tony had already shifted was curled up around Vision with Jarvis on his shoulders. The only warnings they had gotten before the raiders appeared were Jarvis going tense with all his feathers ruffling and a branch breaking in half that caused both Tony and Bruce to jump on their feet.

They were in trouble. Tony was in his wolf form with paws that couldn’t use the rune gauntlets and if he tried running head first they’d shoot him down before he could get within biting range. And Bruce, well, Tony didn’t know what Bruce was capable of, both in his two legs or four, but he figured the other omega was just as defenseless as him and they were going to have to accept whatever fate they were destined for after these raiders were done with them.

Oh, how wrong he had been.

Tony didn’t see what had happened. His main concern was keeping Jarvis and Vision safe and so he stood over the little machine, pressing his belly against the metal body and shielding him. He had reached out for the cockatoo still on his shoulders with his mouth and gently sank his teeth in order to grab him and tuck him in next to Vision, curling himself around them. He faced the ground and so only heard what had happened. There was a shot, a grunt from Bruce that stopped Tony’s heart, the ripping of clothing and then a mighty growl that echoed through the night. The raiders started shouting and screaming as the growling continued. It continued and continued and continued until it all stopped, stopped just as fast as a candle light being blown away.

Hesitantly, Tony uncurled and faced forward. All the raiders were down, unconscious, lifeless, and on top of them stood the biggest and most vicious looking omega Tony had ever seen, and no Bruce.

 

_“For the love that is all holy… please tell me you’re Bruce.”_

_“…”_

_“E-even if you’re not Bruce, that’s fine. Don’t - don’t attack. Friendly. I’m friendly, uh, big guy. Not associated with those shifters… don’t even know them.”_

_“...”_

_“Don’t like to talk? I can talk enough for the two of us. Uh, you have a little bit of blood on your - no, never mind. Are you Bruce, or do you know where Bruce is? I’m a friend. Please don’t eat me I have two young ones to look after.”_

_“Sir -”_

_“Puny wolf. No meat. Not worth hunt.”_

_“Y-you -! That’s right, puny, so puny. I got no meat on my bones, neither does Jarvis and Vision is all metal. Not even worth the energy.”_

_“Runt.”_

_“Now that’s just hurtful. No need for names.”_

_“...”_

_“W-what are you doi -? No, no, no - stay. Please stay. O-oh, alright, just don’t strike. Listen, if you’re Bruce say something because I’m going blind here and I need to know he’s alright and not somewhere in that pile.”_

_“Runt not run away?”_

_“Run away? No, no, if you’re not going to hurt me I have no reason to. You’re not going to hurt me, right?”_

_“...”_

_“What are - wait, before you - no, don’t lick while you have blood on your - alright, alright… now I have blood on my nose. Ugh, I smell it everywhere. Jarvis, help wipe it off?”_

_“I don’t believe our guest will take kindly to the gesture, Sir. He might consider the act of  wiping his submissive gesture as an insult.”_

_“Don’t be the voice of reason. I have blood all over my snout.”_

_“Perhaps you should consider returning the gesture, Sir. I believe him to indeed be Mister Banner and if that is the case it is best not to be rude.”_

_“Yes, mother.”_

_“There are many factors that makes that statement untrue, Sir, but I am honored to be seen as your parental figure.”_

_“We don’t need your sass right now, Jarvis. Now, big guy, get closer so I can lick your nose. Bruce? Are you Bruce?”_

_“No Bruce.”_

_“Where is he?”_

_“Here.”_

_“Here is very descriptive. Exactly where is here?”_

_“Here.”_

_“You’re Bruce?”_

_“No Bruce, but here.”_

_“So you’re your own person. Do I call you Bruce?”_

_“...”_

_“All right, no Bruce. What should I call you?”_

_“...”_

_“Come one, you have a name, right?”_

_“... Hulk.”_

_“Hulk? That’s a nice name. I can work with that. Hulk. Hul -_ **_k_ ** _.”_

_“Puny wolf.”_

_“Thanks.”_

 

Tony now understood why Bruce was so hesitant. He had every right to be because not only was his shifted form something never before seen he also didn’t even have any control of it. Bruce shared his body with someone else. Someone powerful and unnatural looking that could attack anyone they wanted and Bruce could do nothing to stop him.

Still, no matter how dangerous Tony wasn’t going to leave. He liked Bruce, and after that night of meeting the Hulk he had a general idea of what to expect and perhaps how to handle the giant. So long as he didn’t overstep or was an immediate danger to Bruce the giant wouldn’t make an appearance.

 

_“You’re still in one piece.”_

_“And you’re almost naked. Those pants of yours are made of strong stuff, and you’re talking about the big guy that takes over your shift form? Didn’t hurt me at all, but he did smother my face with blood. Very sweet of him.”_

_“He… he submitted to you?”_

_“Not exactly, no. He gestured a submission. I licked him back. We’re best pals now.”_

_“I didn’t think you’d survive meeting him.”_

_“You have little faith in me, Brucie.”_

_“I’m serious, Tony! The last time I shifted the other guy ended up killing the… he ended up fighting against my alpha pack leader.... and second in command.”_

_“Is that what happened to your old pack?”_

_“If you were wondering.”_

_“Had it with you your whole life?”_

_“No. Curse. Learning to live with it.”_

 

Tony had his answers now, all that was missing was the why and the how. Why had Bruce been curse and how had it happened? Was it willing, or was it forced? Was it himself or was it his old pack?

Bruce wasn’t going to reveal everything, at least not then, perhaps in the future, or maybe even never. All Tony knew was, even knowing the possible dangers Bruce posed with his friend, Tony still trusted him to remain by his side. Hell, even Jarvis was still using his shoulder occasionally, so Jarvis’ trust hadn’t wavered.

They had agreed to stick together, and Bruce not pushing them away and actually initiating physical contact was always a plus. Going to the northern shacks located near a city was vetoed and so they headed east instead where roads were plentiful and trees expanded as far as the eyes could see. They still ended up stopping in a town during their travels. Bruce required a new set of clothes to replace the ones the Hulk had ripped.

 

_“Hulk? Really? That’s the name he gave you?”_

_“I think it’s a decent name. Why, you don’t like it?”_

_“Couldn’t he have picked something more… I don’t know, normal?”_

_“What, you want to give the big guy on two legs and giant claws a regular name? Is Sheldon intimidating enough? How about Will? You know what, Thomas is perfect for striking fear into the hearts of many. We’ll call him Thomas.”_

_“All right, I get it.”_

 

A new set of clothes and they continued on the road. According to some of the Brook town locals that gave them sympathetic looks while they were handling their business, the nearest shacks were about six hours from there on foot. The sun was on the center of the sky and they figured might as well have a roof over their heads for the night. If no shacks were available they could always camp nearby and not have the fear of having another raider attack.

For hours they marched, finding the shacks the shifters from Brook had promised in little under six hours. To their luck they found one shack available, but only that one shack. Bruce had hesitated sharing a shack before but Tony was tired and falling asleep on his feet and so, without much thought, he had grabbed Bruce by his sleeve and yanked him inside the shack. He left him to do his own and stripped himself down to shift for the night.

And the most peculiar thing happened.

Tony had curled around Vision and Jarvis had nested on his shoulders and were seconds away from sleep when Tony heard shuffling to his side, inches away. When Tony lifted his head to turn and see he found Bruce had place his coat right next to him, close, as if sleeping with pack. It was trust now. Bruce still looked to hesitate but he wanted it and so Tony reached out to lick his hand in acceptance and inched closer as he curled again.

Bruce huffed, got comfortable and the four went to sleep.

The next morning found Tony crouching as low as he could, using a bush as cover as his eyes remained locked on his prey. A grey rabbit was feet away, sniffing and twitching its ears. Jarvis was sitting on a branch over it, keeping an eye out from the sky and making sure the rabbit didn’t run and disappear from sight.

Tony took one step closer and raised his tail in anticipation to the upcoming run he was going to go through and just as he was about to jump and get a head start the rabbit turned skittish and hightailed it from there. Tony cursed and ran after it.

“Jarvis!”

“The prey is heading north, Sir. Hurry.”

Tony spotted the cockatoo flying through tree branches, no doubt staying on top of the rabbit and playing as a marker for Tony to follow. Jarvis swerved left and right, ducking over and under branches. Tony tried his best to follow as closely as possible without accidentally running into a tree. This was the last rabbit he needed. He already had three rabbits caught that Bruce and Vision were looking after and he needed a fourth, two for him and two for Bruce, but the last rabbit was playing extremely hard to get.

This particular forest had a collection of hyperaware rabbits. No matter how quiet Tony tried walking the forest floor every single rabbit heard him miles away and disappeared from sight. The only reason Tony managed to catch the last three was thanks to a very large part to Jarvis who knocked them down over and over until Tony got close enough to get them.

Now Tony was trying to keep up with Jarvis to start the knocking again, but there were too many trees creating zigzags in the path instead of a somewhat straight line. Tony had to slow down every few seconds in order to turn but at least the white cockatoo was easy to spy among the green leaves and shadows.

He kept his eyes completely focused on the cockatoo, never realizing the rabbit was leading them close to a road that went through the forest commonly used by shifters. There was a ditch that separated the forest floor from the road that Tony spotted through the bushes. Without thinking and intending to continue after the cockatoo Tony jumped, breaking through the bushes only to skid to the stop. On the road, right in front of his path, was a very large golden wolf that had two of his paws in mid air as he casually walked. The alpha instinctively turned to the noise, locking his blue eyes with Tony as Tony sank his paws down on the ground in order to stop, but he had too much momentum and ended up sliding the last few inches before stopping right in front of the alpha, touching nose to nose.

Tony hunched his shoulders and pulled his head back. He could feel his tail going between his legs as a response to the fear he felt from running head first to an alpha without warning. Who knew what the alpha thought of his sudden appearance. He could interpret Tony jumping through the bushes as an attack, waiting until his defenses were down and then strike, and attack back as self-defence. Tony heard a growl from the side and found that the alpha wasn’t alone. There was a pack behind him, following, meaning that this alpha he ran into was the pack leader and Tony was in so much trouble. He flattened his ears and through his fear managed to count at least four pack members with plenty more further back, including the leader, and he really needed to make himself as small as possible and leave.

Tony whined softly and began to slowly and hesitantly take steps back. He avoided eye contact with any of them. All of them were on edge, bodies tense, and ready to act. The smallest of noise would probably set them off so Tony tried his damnedest not to make a single sound as his paws got closer and closer to the grassy ground. Any second now something had to give, but it wasn’t any of them.

A flap of wings had all of them turning to the air. Jarvis was flying over them, squawking in concern and worry, fully aware of the situation Tony had gotten himself into. Tony took the opportunity and turned to run for his life. He tripped on his jump and didn't acknowledge the pain in his paw but he kept going, running all the way back to where Vision stood guard of the rabbits and where Bruce was seated, watching over the little machine. If he could reach Bruce then he had a chance of surviving with the Hulk taking on the pack.

He kept running and running, not really aware if the pack was chasing after him or not and not taking the risk to look back. He kept going and going, ignoring Jarvis calling out to him and not stopping until the cockatoo latched onto his back and bit his neck.

“Sir they are not following.”

With his heart on the verge of beating out of his chest Tony slowed down, looked back just in case, and took shuddering, concerning breaths. He didn’t dare rest and kept going in a more sedated pace until he found Vision and Bruce. Vision was the first to reach him, beeping and worried for the evident state Tony was in. Bruce came next, kneeling down and holding Tony’s head up to examine his eyes and his neck, then his back, chest and legs. That was how Tony found out that Bruce wasn’t just a man of science, but was also a doctor on the side.

Tony allowed himself to be examined and took up the offer of Bruce hunting the last rabbit as Tony rested his injured paw. Jarvis joined Bruce on the hunt after making sure Tony would be fine, leaving the breathless omega to curl up next to the rabbits with a little machine beeping and fussing over him.

He counted his blessings that the alpha leader didn’t consider Tony a threat and attacked him or sent his pack after him. There had been many occasions where traveling packs had attacked anyone who ran into them. Walking up to a pack showed no ill intent, but running was considered a hostility, a form to strike swiftly against the pack and catching them off-guard.

Tony had rushed right at the alpha. By all means the alpha had every right to attack in self-defense or order his pack to strike, but this alpha did neither. Instead he allowed Tony to go free and live to see another day.

Despite his initial fear, Tony had to wonder at why the alpha didn’t strike. They had been nose to nose, literally. Tony could still feel the little tingle on the tip of his nose from the contact with the alpha. He was a bite away from hurting him. Why didn’t the alpha attack? What kept him in place instead of jumping into action?

There was only one way to get his answers and that was to walk right back to the alpha, and there was no way Tony was doing that, never again. He was perfectly fine with never seeing the alpha or his pack again. One experience was good enough, thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses on who the alpha is? Eh, eh? *winwinnudgenudge*  
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Updates will start to slow down, seeing as I'm returning to school soon, but I'll finish this fic as soon as I can. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	4. Famous Visit

Turned out, according to Bruce, Tony had gotten a sprained wrist. Tripping on his jump as he ran away from the pack he abruptly bumped into had injured his paw, and continuously using it to run back to Vision and Bruce made it worse. The injury carried over to his wrist and had required to be wrapped. Thankfully, Bruce was a doctor and seemed to know what he was doing. A good rest with no labor on his wrist and Tony should be good as new in a day or two, which meant no tinkering or hunting for Tony, Bruce’s orders.

Shortly after returning back to the shacks with their game and wrapping his wrist they went to the common area and claimed a table and a fire pit for themselves to cook the rabbits. Bruce took the job of skinning the rabbits while Tony went to collect dried branches, promising to only use his good hand. He came back with a fair gathering of wood tucked under his injured-free arm, Jarvis on his shoulder with small sticks in his beak, and Vision rolling next to his feet with a strap from a bag wrapped around his little spot of ‘neck’ and pulling additional branches.

They placed their gathered pile next to the pit and preened at their job well done. Bruce had finished with the rabbits and began placing half of the branches in the pit, skillfully starting a fire with dried leaves and rubbing sticks together. The rabbits were tied to the metal rod located on top of the pit and started cooking when the fire was a reasonable size, no doubt gaining a smoky taste that Tony had learned to enjoy from the rising black ashes.

“And we’re set. Rabbits for breakfast,” Bruce said and patted his hands in an attempt to get rid of the branches’ aftermath.

“Want to check what other slower game this forest has for us later on? No offense, but by the time you get four other rabbits it’ll be time for breakfast again,” Tony offered. “I smelled a river nearby while running. Maybe there’s fish in it.”

“I saw a couple of pheasants on our way back. Want to try those instead?”

Tony grimaced at the suggestion and felt Jarvis stiffen. He gestured to the cockatoo with his eyes when he said, “I sort of live on a strict no-bird diet.”

Bruce quickly got the hint and looked apologetic. “Sorry, Jarvis. I wasn’t thinking. I keep forgetting you’re not actually a shifter.”

“Apology accepted, Doctor Banner. All I ask is that you refrain from making such comments in the future,” Jarvis whistled.

“You got it. Guess fish is on the menu for later in the day.”

“I can’t wait to see you go fishing. A wet Bruce will be a sight to see.”

“Who said anything about jumping in the water to fish? I know how fishing rods work and how to make one. All I need is bait.”

“I’ll be happy to assist with that, Doctor Banner,” Jarvis flapped his wings.

Tony pouted “Aw, Jarvis, you should have let him go swimming instead. I bet he’ll look good with wet curls.”

“As flattered as I am, Tony, it’ll never work out between us,” Bruce chuckled and sat down on the table in order to wait for their meal.

Tony grinned and sat across from him, picking up Vision after an irritating beep and placing him on the table’s surface. “Keep telling yourself that, Brucie. You won’t even give us a chance.”

“Well, I mean, if you think you can handle my shift you can go for it, but I’m telling you now the other guy doesn’t seem to be a gentle lover.”

For a brief moment Tony actually thought about it and tried to imagine how the Hulk would go about in courting and mating with someone and, _whoa_ , no, how would it be possible? If it had only been Bruce then it wouldn’t be a problem. Bruce would just have to only mate in human form and not get the option to spice it up in bed with his shifted form. But this was two in one body, both Bruce _and_ Hulk. Whoever considered Bruce for a mate had to be aware they wouldn’t be courting just one person, they’d be courting two.

“Never know until you try. Maybe Hulk will turn out to be a gentle giant. Besides, I don’t think he’ll disappoint any mate,” Tony wiggled his eyebrows.

In response Bruce groaned and covered his eyes. “I am not having this conversation with you.”

“I have a great idea. Let’s continue this conversation and nothing else. Let’s make the whole day nothing but this.”

“No, if anything we are switching it over and making it about you,” Bruce pointed at him. “What happened that caused you to injure your wrist?”

Tony felt his smile disappear. He cleared his throat and looked away, a bit shamefaced. If he had been in his wolf form his ears would currently be down. “I ran into a pack while chasing the last rabbit. Stopped right in front of the alpha leader and rubbed noses with them.”

Tony didn’t bother to see Bruce’s reaction. Usually the only expression received when someone explains a poor shifter with the misfortune of _running_ straight into a pack was shock, disbelief, worry, and in Bruce’s case that involved being friends with the shifter, belated terror.

Bruce shot his hand out and landed it next to Tony’s arm, wanting to touch but unsure whether it would be appreciated. “Tony, did they -?”

“They didn’t attack, the leader, and didn’t order the pack to follow after me. None of them attacked. I got hurt because I was an idiot and twisted my hand from a jump and didn’t stop until I got back to you.”

Bruce sighed. “And you pushed through the injury, worsening it,” he paused. “Why did you run back to me? Were you - you were going to hide behind the other guy, weren’t you?”

Tony grinned. “If anyone had a chance between all of us it would be the big guy. You can’t blame me for going with him for protection.”

“He’s dangerous, Tony!”

“Only if you treat him as such. He licked my face, Brucie, I think we’re beyond the point of being enemies and we’re one step away from going under the waist.”

Bruce groaned. “Dammit, Tony.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Can we go back to this pack you ran into. Did you say anything? Did they?”

Tony shrugged. “One growled at me, but I don’t know which one. The leader didn’t actually react or anything. They just stood there, in the middle of walking, and stared at me. Nothing else.”

“Could’ve been a family pack heading back home then.”

It could’ve. Family packs usually preferred avoiding any fights since they had children or elderly traveling with them and hated separating. That would explain why Tony managed to run away. The pack stuck together instead of breaking off and chasing after him, but from what little Tony saw from the pack he didn’t find any children with them, and their fur looked soft and healthy and free from any whithered white fur, meaning they were in their prime.

There had to be another reason why the pack didn’t chase after him but Tony wasn’t going to complain. He was still here with only a sprained wrist for his troubles and about to have rabbit for late breakfast with Bruce.

“Ever picture yourself living the family pack life?” Tony asked, steering the conversation towards another direction.

“You really think the other guy looks like a family omega?” Bruce snorted.

“I can picture him standing over four pups and smiling proudly. ‘ _Hulk make tiny Hulks,_ ’ it’s perfect.”

Despite his best efforts to not smile, Bruce ended up laughing at the image and covered his eyes. Tony laughed right along with him. Jarvis, with his little pile of nuts and seeds, munched away with little attention to their conversation. Vision rolled back and forth, turning his head from Tony to Bruce and back to Tony.

Sometime later, the rabbits looked crisped and ashen and almost the perfect color of red. They were only minutes away from fully cooked and Tony’s mouth was watering from the sight. It just so happened that Bruce carried seasoning with him, what with him only able to eat cooked meat since he shied away from using his shift, and Tony planned to take full advantage of it until the day Bruce decides to leave.

They were in the middle of Tony explaining a tale that involved oil, Vision covered with it and Jarvis’ loose feathers when many of the betas and omegas hanging around the common area began to move and point and started talking excitedly amongst themselves.

“It’s really them!”

“Where?”

“They’re on that side of the shacks!”

“Are they here to recruit?”

“Are they?”

“I don’t care if they are, I just want to see them.”

Both Tony and Bruce stopped what they were doing and looked around, noting how the other betas and omegas were tripping over themselves trying to head to the same direction. They spoke as if someone incredible was present in the shacks, but who exactly was worth all the hype for?

“Anyone you know?” Tony asked without pulling his eyes away from the over excited young shifters.

“No clue,” Bruce answered.

“I’m unawares, Sir,” Jarvis clawed up to Tony’s shoulder.

“Must be someone famous.” Tony leaned back from his spot sitting down and waved at a beta that ran by. “Hey, what’s going on?”

The beta stopped and her smile looked to almost split her face in half. “It’s the Avengers! The pack is here and they’re recruiting!” She ran off without another word.

“H-huh,” Tony stuttered. The Avengers? He had heard of the Avengers pack. They were a war pack mixed with a side of military that fought against wrongdoers and were led by _the_ Captain. Tony remembered first hearing about the famous pack. They were responsible for pushing back the infamous Hydra packs that were causing problems all around, and the alpha in charge? He was famous in his own right, having led the war pack, the Howling Commandos, to many victories and now leading the Avengers.

To hear this famous pack was in the shacks? No wonder all the betas and omegas were besides themselves trying to reach them. They either wanted to see the pack with their own eyes or they wanted to see if they could get a shot at being added as a pack member. To be part of the Avengers? It was a shifters wet dream.

“The Avengers,” Tony said as casually as he could without giving himself away, even though inside he was fighting to jump up and follow after the youngsters.

“Odd to see them near a shack. Last I heard they haven’t recruited anyone for years. Why now? There hasn’t been a reported death, has there?”

“No,” Tony thought about it. “From the last time I read about them they still had the same members and there were no funerals or anything. Could be they’re just passing through, but stopping by shacks?”

Bruce shrugged. “Maybe they’re on a hunt to start a family? Even war packs have to settle down eventually.”

Tony ignored the little pain in his chest at the mention of starting a family. The one thing he could never do. “Not all war packs. The Avengers pack were formed with young shifters. I don’t think starting a family is in their minds. Could be they’re just curious to see the potential.”

“Well, there’s plenty of potential for them to see here.”

“Talking about yourself?” Tony smirked.

“Me? N-no, no, I wasn’t including me,” Bruce stuttered.

“Why not? Pretty sure you’re qualified to fight the biggest dangers around. You can take on Hydra packs on your own.”

“Tony, I’m not invincible.”

“Just saying.”

“Well if you’re so interested in them, why don’t you go and show them your potential?”

Tony was flabbergasted and made a face that wasn’t exactly attractive. “I don’t have potential. There’s nothing special about me to get them interested.”

The little twinge of fear that appeared from the possibility that maybe Bruce had figured out his hidden skill made his heart stop for a second. The other omega couldn’t have figured it out. Tony never gave any hints that he could manipulate runes, but what other potential could Bruce be talking about? Certainly not his skills in hunting, or his speed, or any form of fighting. Tony was uncoordinated when trying to punch and kick. At most his only good skill was handling and using weapons, but he never showed Bruce or implied it.

But from the way Bruce raised his right eyebrow it was clear he had an idea of something.

“You know being able to work with runes is a rare and valuable gift, right? A war pack like the Avengers would benefit greatly from it.”

Tony opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. Bruce had figured it out. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Instead of replying Bruce merely pointed at Vision, who rolled back slightly and gave an undignified beep.

“Just because Vision has a rune doesn’t mean I put it there.”

“You touch his rune all the time,” Bruce countered. “Only those gifted do that in order to make sure the rune is working properly.”

“I’m just making sure it’s clean.”

“You seem to do more than just clean it.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true, Bruce.”

“What’s so bad with having the skill? I’m just making observations. If you want to keep it a secret then we’ll keep it a secret. You know about the other guy, it’s only fair. I won’t say a word.”

The reasoning was sound, Tony guessed, and it was true that Bruce had his own secret to keep. Besides, it wasn’t as if Bruce was going to ask him to make rune weapons, or anything. He sighed and reached out to pet Vision. “The last people who knew about my skill wanted me to make weapons. Used what they could to force me. I really don’t want others to know, not again.”

Bruce nodded in understanding. If anyone would know about others taking advantage and forcing you against your will, it was Bruce. “Know what? Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he repeated after Tony.

The genius grinned, overjoyed that he found a friend in Bruce. Jarvis approved of the other omega’s answer and bobbed his head, squawking and flapping his wings.

A shout of “They’re here!” had them all turning their heads. From somewhere in the distance of the common area there was a crowd gathering around in a circle. Obviously the Avengers were truly there and none of the pack-less betas and omegas were going to move enough to let Tony and Bruce catch a glimpse without moving from their table.

Tony was itching to run over there just to see the hair color of the pack members. He didn’t care if he didn’t see their faces, just looking at their hair was good enough.

“Unless you go over there yourself you’re not going to see any of them,” Bruce said.

He had been caught. Turned out he wasn’t as subtle as he thought. “You’re not coming?”

“No offense to the Avengers, but maybe them seeing me isn’t a good idea. They could pick up to what everyone is terrified of me for and attack. I’d rather not be known as the omega who killed the famous Avengers.”

“They wouldn’t -,” but then again how would Tony know? He didn’t know any of the members or how they acted or how they thought. The moment they smell something off with Bruce they could jump and strike without a second thought. “You may have a point.”

“Doesn’t meant you can’t go see them,” Bruce encouraged.

Going to see them on his own and try to push the many young betas and omegas to catch a glimpse? Tony didn’t like that idea. If he had Bruce by his side then he’d have aged reinforcement, but alone he was just an old omega trying to see a young and famous war pack. He made the pitiful image of someone expired trying desperately to keep up with the new.

Tony didn’t need to give anyone that image.

He shook his head. “No, they don’t need anymore fans circling them.”

But Vision had other ideas. Just as Bruce was about to retort the little machine decided to release a string of sounds and beeps and rolled off the table, landing on a patch of grass to lessen the hit and rolled for freedom, or more specifically, towards the gathering crowd.

Tony jumped to his feet with a cry of “Vision!” before he went running after the machine. Jarvis flew after him. Tony wasn’t able to reach the machine in time before he met the crowd. Vision was small enough to squeeze in-between the legs of the betas and omegas and disappeared inside the mob of shifters. Tony stopped short outside the crowd, looked left and right to search for the machine and threw his hands up in defeat before he started trying to push his way through.

“Excuse me. Pardon me,” Tony repeated as he shoved shifters after shifters as gently as possible but at one point a shifter decided they didn’t enjoy being moved out of the way and pushed him back  _harsh_. Tony ended up crashing with another shifter who thought he was being rude and shoved him to another shifter who repeated the process. Many were shouting “Watch it!” and “Move” as they played a game of ball with him.

Tony managed to stay on his feet and through the shoving and pushing spotted Vision not that far. He maneuvered his body to be moved forward towards the little machine and just as he was about to kneel down and grab Vision someone said “Stop shoving already!” before they tripped him over.

He landed face forward on the ground with a loud grunt and then whined slightly when he felt his sprained wrist thumping in pain. He heard Vision roll near him and felt when the machine reached his side. He also heard Jarvis flapping his wings over him, whistling in concern.

He moved to his side in order to release his injured arm from under him and held it close to his chest. Pushing on his knees he slowly lifted himself from the ground, raised his head up and froze. He had apparently reached the center of the crowd and was now directly in front of the war pack everyone was cheering for. He had also apparently locked eyes with one of the members. He couldn’t look away from the shining blue eyes looking back and belonging to someone very tall, very muscular (the muscle baggage, incredible!), had hair that was a very shiny gold and hardly had any lines on his face so he guessed he was very young.

The only thing running through his mind was how handsome the alpha was, even though he was staring at Tony in pure disbelief, but once the eye contact was broken from one of the shifters in the crowd shouting “Get out of here, old man!” his thoughts quickly changed from how handsome to how completely _unreachable_ the young alpha was.

Tony looked away to face the ground, muttered a quick “Sorry” before he grabbed Vision with his uninjured arm and quickly pushed through the crowd, making himself look as small as possible. Once through the crowd he jogged over to Bruce and it was a deja vu all over again. Bruce took in his crumpled state and the way he held his arm and sternly ordered him to sit as he looked him over, again. Jarvis landed on his shoulder and nipped his ear. Vision made a cooing noise and leaned his head next to Tony’s right calve.

“How do you keep doing this to yourself?” Bruce said as he examined his wrist again.

Tony shrugged. “Injuries love me. It’s my talent.”

“More like a curse. Want to trade? You’ll be safer with the other guy than constantly getting hurt.”

Tony managed to softly chuckle at that, but it barely lasted. The reason for his worsened injury coming back and the fact he face planted the ground mocked him. “Saw the Avengers.”

“How were they?” Bruce carefully wrapped his wrist again. “Were they everything you hoped for?”

“Didn’t have enough time to see. I embarrassed myself in front of them and ran with my tail between my legs.”

“On the bright side at least you’ll never see them again,” Bruce tried soothing.

“Yeah,” Tony barely whispered. His first time seeing the Avengers and he had to go and make a fool of himself. Not only that, he did it in front of the Captain. Granted he didn’t see which member would have been the Captain, but he figured the Captain was somewhere in that crowd. No alpha leader left his pack alone when traveling. On top of that, he had to go and kiss the ground before seeing that attractive alpha.

The only silver lining was his age, he guessed. He was old and was excused for falling on the ground. It was almost expected by everyone that elders had trouble walking after a while, even though Tony wasn’t _that_ old. His age also stopped any chance with younger mates, so that prevented any possibilities from happening. Frozen in its tracks before it could even start. If his embarrassing first meeting didn’t send the alpha running the other way his age certainly would.

Which was why it was shocking when the noise of someone clearing his throat had them turning and right there, next to his table, was the very same alpha he locked eyes with after his fall.

The alpha was panting and seemed to turn bright pink when Tony and Bruce faced him. A distance behind him the visiting pack were watching him closely, some with smirks, others with annoyed looks and some seeming to be holding in laughter that were on the verge of bursting out.

Tony blinked and blinked again because the Avengers pack were right there without their crowd of fans and were looking at him and Bruce. Why were they there? And why was the alpha he had locked eyes with fidgeting? A strange sight on a young alpha.

“Hi,” the alpha gave a small wave. “I, uh, wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Somehow everyone instinctively looked to Tony’s sprained wrist being held in Bruce’s hands, including Tony himself. Confused he said, “I-I’m fine, just a hurt wrist.”

“Right, uhm,” the alpha shuffled his feet nervously. It was odd seeing an alpha with muscles and height acting shy. Usually young alphas postured and puffed out their chest in confidence, but for some reason this one was bashful. Tony wondered why. “W-would you like… to…” he continued, unable to find the words. 

Behind the alpha someone in the pack growled. “Spit it out already!”

If possible he turned pinker and whirled around to his pack in order to hiss something. One of the pack members, a female alpha with intense red hair, rolled her eyes and walked passed the stuttering alpha. She marched right up to the two omegas, causing them to tense up. If she picked up on it she didn’t say anything. She simply put her hands on her hips and said “Our pack leader is interested in recruiting you. What do you say?”

Tony’s mouth practically hit the floor because the female alpha was looking at him as she said it. He looked behind him just to be sure but found no one. The only explanation was she was actually asking _him_ … but, why?

“ _Natasha_ ,” the alpha, the pack _leader_ , hissed.

The pack leader. Oh what a joke Tony had made for himself. He found the _Avengers_ ’ _leader_ attractive… meaning he was the famous Captain and Tony had gotten the start of a small flame for the _Captain._

The alpha female, newly named Natasha, ignored her pack leader and waited for Tony’s answer.

From somewhere behind the Avengers the crowd of fans had rearranged and a bunch of them gave whines of disbelief and outcry. Everyone ignored them.

Tony still couldn’t believe this was happening to him so all he managed to say was “L-let me think about it,” and quickly regretted it when the Captain looked so heartbroken from his answer, but what could be the reason for it? And what was he supposed to say? He hadn’t even met the guy yet and falling on the ground didn't count as an official meeting.  

There was a pause where Tony didn’t know what Natasha was going to do. She kept looking at him as if he was a strange specimen to be studied, and since she was an Avenger it was probably exactly what she was doing. She was studying him, trying to figure him out and probably trying to decipher why her pack leader suggested recruiting him. As a matter of fact the rest of the Avengers seemed to be doing just that. It made Tony feel small and unworthy and all he wanted was to hide in his and Bruce’s shared shack, eating away his emotions with the seasoned rabbit.

The pause stretched out uncomfortably and something was about to give. Thankfully, Jarvis didn’t share with any of the shifter’s tense atmosphere and bit softly at Tony’s fluffy hair, yanking to get his attention. “Sir, the rabbits are done.”

That got them all moving. Bruce went to pull the rabbits away from the fire and Tony took the opportunity to sit properly on the table, turning away to not look at the Avengers’ intense gazes. He figured it was the hint necessary to get them to leave but all that happened was one of the members, a slim blonde beta that carried a bow on his back, stepped up and said, “Great! I’m starving. Got enough for a whole pack?”

Bruce snorted, not looking at any of them. So far it seemed none of the Avengers had picked up on Bruce’s unusual shift. None of them attacked or showed signs of wanting to. Either that or they didn’t think he was a threat, which was always a good thing. “We’ll need to hunt deers in order to feed your pack. We just have enough for us.”

Another beta, a dark-skinned fellow, added, “Not a problem. We’ll get those deers, as long as you don’t mind company.”

Tony and Bruce looked to each other. Both of them obviously didn’t want to but what reason did they have to say no? On top that, why would the _Avengers_ even want to have breakfast with _them_?

“There might not be enough room on this table,” Bruce said slowly.

“We’ll handle that,” the first beta said. “Come on, deer hunting time.”

With that half of the Avengers’ pack disappeared into the trees. The others accepted their apparent stay and went to claim other tables to bring them together.

All through it, the only question running in Tony’s mind was _what is going on?_

But when he turned and accidentally locked eyes with the Captain and received a wave and a shy smile he figured it couldn’t be that bad. He only wished the Captain would stop looking at him as if they were acquaintances when he had never met the alpha before in his life.

The idea of having the Captain, leader of the Avengers, ex-leader of the Howling Commandos and all around big alpha to ever alpha, as a friend, or heaven forbid a _mate_ , was something that didn’t belong in the same sentence with Tony. He’d rather the alpha ignore him and pretend he didn't exist, no matter how hurtful it would be. False hope was the cruelest thing imaginable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have minor ships I plan on adding, but I can't decide on which ones. Steve/Tony is the only cemented ship that I have while others fluctuate from person to person. Help me choose some. Their romance won't play a big part in the story but I love having little moments with them.
> 
> Here are the ships and my perception of what could happen to help promote your decision. If no one chooses any I'll just flip a coin and let fate decide.  
> Bruce/Natasha (awkward and lost Brucie getting courted by straightforward and blunt Natasha, eh? eh? also the age difference can play here as well)  
> or  
> Bruce/Loki (still awkward and lost Brucie getting hit on by nonchalant and expressionless Loki who uses pickup lines with a completely straight face, just imagine that and let it sink in.)
> 
> Bucky/Peggy (self-proclaimed charming Bucky making moves on Peggy who sees through his shit and gives him a smack or two)  
> or  
> Bucky/Rhodey (two strong-willed idiots who fight for dominance and refuse to back down, imagine the intense sex between the two and the ridiculous competition of who can charm the other better, plus they can joke about having the same first name!)
> 
> Rhodey/Sam (awkward little bird Sam trying to romance oblivious big patriot Rhodey who only figures it out because Sam tries to kiss him after hanging out and he blurts “was that a fucking date?”)
> 
> Also playing around there's the golden trio hook up with Steve/Tony, Bucky/Pepper and Rhodey/Peggy, or the other way around with Bucky/Rhodey and Peggy/Pepper. Oooh~ 
> 
> I have no idea who to ship Clint with, give me options, but no Clint/Phil (sorry for those who ship them, I just don't find the appeal, and also Phil won't be in the story)


	5. The Popular Table

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have voted and here are the results!  
> From the couples listed by me and suggested by you. 
> 
> We have a tie in last place between Clint/Loki and Thor/Loki.
> 
> Bucky/Peggy follow after, beating Bucky/Clint.
> 
> Next is Rhodey/Sam, beating Bucky/Rhodey and Rhodey/Peggy. 
> 
> Taking first place in a surprising landslide is Bruce/Natasha, beating Bruce/Thor, Bruce/Pepper, Bruce/Loki, Sam/Natasha, Pepper/Natasha and Clint/Natasha. 
> 
> Also included in this list is the couple I had already considered, Jan/Hank! 
> 
> Thank you everyone for voting! You really helped in helping me decide. Now I just ask you vote one more time on who the tie breaker is between Clint/Loki and Loki/Thor. If none of these meet your fancy suggest another pairing for any of these three characters.

Tony pinched himself a total of thirteen times, plus an additional four requested bites from Jarvis, but the image of Bruce sitting in front of him and the Avengers each taking up a spot at the rest of the table wouldn’t disappear, leaving him with only one explanation - it was all real.

He and Bruce were awkwardly eating their rabbits, pulling on the meat and stuffing as much as they could without outright being rude, since the Avengers had hunted down their deers and were waiting for them to cook now. Tony and Bruce were hungry and their rabbits were still warm so manners or not they were going to eat, even if it was in a sedated state. They weren’t barbarians.

Four Avengers sat at Tony’s and Bruce’s table, the latter sitting on one edge. The Captain included on the list of the four Avengers, or more specifically, the Captain was sitting right next to Tony. The rest of the Avengers were seated at a table they had brought over to combine so they wouldn’t be left behind and were chatting energetically to each other, or at least most of them were. One fellow with raven hair was lazily staring at nothing while determinedly trying to ignore another fellow with golden hair that looked to be larger than life and had the voice to match it.

Tony sat stiffly on his spot near the edge, facing forward and refusing to look anywhere near the Captain. Bruce appeared to be no better, if his tense shoulders were any indication, and he, too, refused to look anywhere the Avengers were sitting. Sitting next to Bruce was the shifter named Natasha and next to her was the shifter who carried the bow and asked about plenty of food for the pack. In front of him and sitting next to the Captain was a shifter with long hair and appeared to have a permanent scowling face in place. He looked grumpy, irritated and seemed to be passive-aggressively ignoring everyone around him.

Tony gave himself another pinch, took a bite of his food and dared to take a peek to see if the Avengers were still there. They were. He also ended up looking at the exact moment the Captain decided to face his direction and their eyes locked, again. There was a lot of eye locking with this alpha. Tony could see more foreseeable eye locking in the future with the Captain for as long as the Avengers decide to stay.

The Captain’s shining blue looking into his own brown eyes. Tony found in those blue eyes, as the Captain was staring at him, there was some sort of emotion swirling in them, unspoken hope possibly, and he remained quiet, expectant, as if waiting for Tony to do something. Tony held the gaze long after the Captain decided whatever he was waiting for Tony to do wasn’t going to happen and his eyes lost the hope. Instead, it seemed as if the Captain came to a decision and looked very determined to do it. He gave Tony a charming smile, teeth and all, and said “Hi.”

Not exactly the greatest conversation starter, especially since Tony’s cheeks were full of food and he couldn’t reply right away and he probably looked like a chipmunk. He swallowed, shifted his eyes back and forth between the Captain and Bruce and mumbled a “Hello.”

The alpha seemed unfazed and continued smiling. “My name’s Steve Rogers.”

Tony breathed, mindful not to reveal his entire name to a leader of a _war_ pack. The newly named Steve Rogers didn’t need to know he was a Stark and piece together he could possibly be related to  _the_ Stark responsible for many weapons still around, created during his father's time. He hadn't been a Stark in years so it wasn't a difficulty, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to be a Hammer, not anymore. He refused. “Tony, mine’s Tony.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Tony.”

Tony shifted. “Likewise.”

“So how’s your day so far?”

“It’s good, besides the sprained wrist.”

“How is it?”

“Healing.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“It is.”

“I’m glad you’re all right.”

Tony stared at his lap, unsure on what to make of Steve’s kindness. Why did he care if he had gotten hurt? Plenty of shifters get hurt on a daily basis, and now that he thought about it he saw a few betas living in the shacks that had injuries. Why didn’t Steve, or any of the other Avengers, go to them instead? “Thank you.”

Apparently their sorry excuse of a conversation was too painful to watch. The Avengers sitting nearest to them facepalmed and groaned while those furthest were a mix of disbelief, annoyance and somehow found the whole thing hilarious.

Tony gave Bruce a pleading glance and only got a raised eyebrow and a shrug as a response. He didn’t know what to do or figure out why Steve Rogers, the Captain, and leader of the Avengers was trying to make small talk with him of all shifters. There were plenty of betas and omegas who probably deserved having the Captain chat them up. Tony couldn’t understand why Steve was even trying with him. All he did was fall face first on the ground in front of the alpha, what was attention worthy of that?

Perhaps Steve thought it was funny watching him fall and believed Tony was a ridiculous omega and deserved having some sort of trick to embarrass him further played on him. That would be believable, and sadly the most probable reason as to why Steve was bothering. It wouldn’t be the first time an alpha tried proving their superiority by bringing him down. Hammer did it plenty and Tony quickly learned to force himself not to care and to not show the hurt. He had to, otherwise the past twenty plus years would’ve been hell for him if he took every wounding word to heart and have a piece chipped away from it. And to be honest, he still ended up accepting every word and it _hurt_ , it hurt to know he was apparently worth nothing that his own alpha treated him lower than dirt.

At least he mastered his skills of hiding behind his mask. He refused to give Hammer the satisfaction of a reaction. The alpha received plenty of those during their beginning years together and got too much enjoyment from it. Tony wasn’t going to let him enjoy it for twenty years.

Ever since escaping Hammer’s clutches Tony thought he would finally be free of the torment. If by some miracle he managed to catch someone’s eye and they decided to take a risk on him he had hoped, or wished - really -  _begged_ , that they would treat him decently, kindly, with some form of _love_. That they would treat him as if he was worth something, treat him as if he was someone to be cherished, to dote on, or even just to hold closely. Just be _someone_ to them instead of nothing more than an omega meant to pleasure them.

He wanted to be looked at just like that alpha child once looked at him, with adoration, but he couldn’t think about that, he shouldn’t. It was a _child_ that did so and it was wrong of Tony to think anymore of it. It was pathetic, really, that he kept thinking back to that moment, wanting it desperately and imagining his life if it had happened only to feel extremely guilty afterwards because, _child._

How undeserving was he, that the only one to ever look at him in such a way was someone who wasn’t even of age, or close to it at all, and probably didn’t understand what he had promised? At least the child never looked for him, if he had survived. Nobody deserved getting stuck with Tony Stark.

And now it seemed his life was destined to be forever tormented because even after getting away from Hammer he still ended up finding another alpha that apparently wanted to show his superiority, and it was the _Captain_ of all shifters. What had Tony done in a previous life that even the Captain, who dedicated himself to helping people and keeping them safe, wanted to humiliate him?

Tony’s life really was a joke.

Thankfully he had Jarvis and Vision in it. The cockatoo nipped at his fingers holding the piece of rabbit and said “Sir, your food is getting cold. Also, Vision has been calling for your attention for the past two minutes.” The little rolling machine beeped in irritation from the ground, proving Jarvis right. Tony hadn’t picked him up to put on the table yet, what with getting distracted by the fact that the _Avengers_ were sitting at their table.

He quickly reached down and plucked the machine. “Sorry, Vision.”

Vision cooed, accepting his apology, and turned to look at Steve and then Natasha and rolled slightly to get a look at the two shifters that followed down the table. The beta with the bow eyed the machine in amazement and pointed, “Is that, is that a _living_ machine? Oh my - Nat, I want one. Get me one.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “What are you even going to do with one?”

The dark skinned beta spoke up from the other side of the table, pointing at Jarvis. “More importantly, did that bird finish a complete sentence?”

Jarvis looked insulted and puffed up his feathers. Tony chuckled at the display and ran a finger softly over the white plumage of the bird’s back. “I ask that you refrain from insulting my intellect, seeing as both you and I share the same capability. I wouldn’t wish of you to speak ill of yourself.”

That was an insult if Tony ever heard one from Jarvis and he sneakered. Jarvis wasn’t going to outright bring out his guns since the beta, or any of the Avengers, hadn’t done anything to earn his wrath, but being a bird didn’t mean he was going to take that kind of talk sitting down. And from the way the beta had his mouth opened and the others were all looking equal parts amazed and amused he figured they weren’t expecting it.

The beta with the bow (they really needed to introduce themselves because Tony was getting tired only calling them ‘betas with this distinction’) laughed. “You just got insulted by a bird! Isn’t that your animal? Oh, man, not much of a bird charmer, are you?”

The other beta huffed. “You're one to talk. They're your animal, too.”

“Yeah, but I didn't insult it.” _You just did_ , Tony thought. “Don't go blaming me for your mistakes.”

Jarvis took four clawed-steps forward and flapped his wings. “I happen to have a name,” he snapped.

The beta seemed taken back by the now angered bird and gave a worried glance to Tony, who only shrugged and raised his one good hand in peace, wanting no part in it.

“An angry cockatoo is someone you don't want to mess with,” Tony warned.

“What did I do?” the beta pled, now under the glare of the bird and a machine. Vision had rolled up to stare at the beta and gave his best impression of angry steel and gave an offending beep for Jarvis. The beta cautiously leaned away from the table in order to have some distance in case the bird and machine decided to jump and strike.

“Well, you called him an it,” surprisingly it was Steve that answered. “Last I heard, calling someone an 'it' is disrespectful and insulting.”

“And you’re also an idiot,” Natasha commented to the beta.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know if you were male or female and went for the first option that I thought of. Please don’t claw my eyes out.”

Instead of accepting the apology Jarvis began crouching down to his claws, expanding his wings slowly as if readying himself to jump and strike. Vision mimicked him best to his ability and rolled back, preparing himself to take off. The beta seemed to pale, understanding that he was about to get hurt and none of his pack mates were going to help him, seeing as not a single one bothered to move a muscle. They had accepted his fate.

Tony snickered into his good hand, Bruce also doing the same with his own, and allowed the two to pose a few seconds longer. “All right you two, you’ve had your fun tormenting him. Leave him alone.”

And like that both the cockatoo and machine stood straight as if never having posed in the first place and clawed and rolled back towards Tony. He reached his arm out in order to let Jarvis walk over and reach his shoulder and gave Vision a pat over his metal head. When they settled down he gave the beta a sheepish smile. “So that’s Jarvis and this is Vision. Stay on their good side and you have nothing to worry about. Get on their bad and you’ll have a bird attacking you from the sky and a machine rolling over your toes.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both,” Steve leaned forward in order to talk to Vision and still have a visual on Jarvis. In doing so he ended up getting in Tony’s line of sight and forced him to look at the charming smile the alpha was giving the cockatoo and machine. When Steve noticed him staring his smile grew wider, if possible, and his shiny blue eyes filled with -

“The name’s Clint,” the recently-threatened beta interrupted, giving the back of Steve’s head a dry look. “In case you’re, you know, not getting distracted by Steve there and wondering.”

That made Tony realized that he had been looking at Steve’s smile for who knows how long and the Avengers had been watching him. He fought down the blush that threatened to appear on his cheeks and for the most part managed to hold it off, that was until he caught Bruce motioning to something to his side. Tony hadn’t realized that Steve had placed his hand over his uninjured one resting on the table’s surface, not exactly holding it but one muscle movement away from it. It was warm and comforting and such a sweet gesture that it made Tony feel happy for a moment. His eyes snapped to the alpha in question, heart speeding up.

Steve appeared both parts hesitant and hopeful and asked, “Is this alright?”

Tony couldn’t have stopped the blush that attacked his face in full force even if he tried to. The reasoning that maybe all this attention he was receiving was part of an elaborated prank returned in his head, but Tony was so starved for this that at that moment he didn’t care. He wanted to experience this for however long the prank would take, consequences be damned.

He swallowed and nodded, looking away and missing how Steve seemed to brighten up from his response. The Avengers, minus two, appeared relieved and some were seconds away from cheering at the development, especially the female beta sitting near the end, if her gripping the arm of the male beta sitting next to her and shaking it was anything to go by.

Jarvis, still on his shoulder, nipped his ear affectionately. Tony hadn’t noticed when Steve first placed his hand over his own but that was why Jarvis was his second set of eyes. If Tony hadn’t noticed, Jarvis definitely would, and if the bird didn’t like what he was seeing and thought the alpha had ulterior motives he would have lashed out and prevented the contact from even happening. Seeing that Jarvis hadn't even bothered to move a wing it was safe to say Jarvis didn’t think anything about the contact. Now, whether he approved of Steve or not was another story entirely.

The beta now named Clint made an exaggerated face at the pair. “Ugh, it’s too adorable. It burns.”

Natasha pushed him hard enough to knock him to the pack mate on his other side. The pale, tall fellow that Tony had noticed from the start with long black hair and an annoyed scowl that appeared permanently stuck on his face. Clint put an arm over his eyes and swooned against the shifter, “My hero,” making him roll his eyes.

The dark skinned shifter leaned forward to appear in Tony’s vision. “Ignore the idiot. My name’s Sam.” He pointed at the shifter sitting in-between him and Steve. “This one with the glaring face is Bucky,” then pointed at the shifter that had Clint leaning against him, “the guy taking one for the team is Loki and the big guy sitting next to him is Thor. Those two in front are Jan and Hank.”

Sam pointed them out respectively, each one giving Tony a wave, except for Bucky and Loki. The first only kept staring at him, as if trying to see something, to search for something on Tony’s person. The second didn’t bother to give a greeting, which was a giving considering he was aggressively trying to ignore what was going on around him.

Now that they had names to their faces it would be easier to communicate and at least now he knew the shifters who were helping their leader play a prank on him.

The Avengers, playing a trick on him, incredible how low Tony must have been in order to have that happen.

The Avengers were also openly staring at him and Bruce now, shifting their gazes back and forth. They were waiting for an introduction, no doubt, since Bruce was making no effort to try and talk to any of them. Hopefully they didn't decide to attack out of nowhere in insult and cause Hulk to make an appearance. At that moment it really wasn’t a great time and Tony did _not_ want to be titled as the shifter who was friends with the Avengers’ killer.

To make his point the group of betas and omegas surrounding them were getting brave and crept closer and closer, wanting to converse with one of the Avengers. There wasn’t a spot around their table that was free of a shifter and Tony knew that Bruce must have been uncomfortable.

With tense shoulders Bruce straightened up, understanding that he wasn’t going to get away with not communicating, and gave the Avengers a timid wave. “Bruce Banner.”

The betas and omegas shifted nervously at that. Similarly to the ones living in the other shacks they had sensed something about Bruce and did what they could to avoid him. They were probably internally fighting with themselves on what to do. They wanted to see the Avengers but they didn’t want to come close to Bruce.

Most of the Avengers were either ignoring the nervousness radiating around them or they just didn’t notice it at all. But one, Natasha, gave a sweep of the area with just her eyes to take in every reaction from the surrounding betas and omegas, looked to mentally store it, and looked to Bruce again. Tony knew she was searching and probably finding what most shifters failed to see. He only hoped she didn’t lash out and cause Bruce to shift in the middle of the common area.

Surprisingly nothing eventful happened after that. Tony went back to munching on his rabbits while Steve’s warm hand over his own was a constant in the back of his mind. Bruce did the same and tried his hardest to not let himself be open for the Avengers to start a conversation with him without being outright rude about it. Still, since Natasha was sitting next to him she mentioned a word or two to him and he had no choice but to talk. The silver lining for him was that at least Natasha didn’t appear to be a big talker. His one word responses appeared enough for her.

The rest of the Avengers were talking amongst themselves. Tony listened while trying not to appear as if he was listening. It was hard to do. Their deers were finished cooking and each already had slices of their own. The Thor fellow hogging most of it, probably claiming two whole deers for himself. Because of their food they started talking about one of their many hunting experiences and were in the middle of a tale that involved Thor throwing Clint for some reason and ending with him getting stuck on a tree. Tony couldn’t stop the snicker that escaped him in time and earned himself a playful glare from the beta because of it. Steve, who hadn’t said much after getting his share of the food gave him a fond look after the snicker and started laughing himself.

Clint retorted by throwing a piece of his food at the alpha. “Laugh it up, Steve. You’ll get yours soon.”

The conversations continued, ranging from other hunting stories to some of their traveling and their fights against idiot raiders that didn’t realize who they were attacking in the middle of the night. _Must be nice sleeping outside with hardly a worry,_ Tony thought.

Then, out of nowhere, without warning, a beta from the surrounding group, a somewhat tall shifter (taller than Tony at least) with fluffy dark hair sat right in-between Tony and Steve, pushing Tony over and nearly knocking him off the edge of the table’s bench seat. Jarvis didn’t do any better on his shoulder and was nearly thrown off as well. The beta that sat down had the attitude of someone who snatched what they wanted and threw down anyone in their way. They caused Tony and Steve's hands to dislodge and made all the Avengers stiffen on their seats. Bruce also included in the list.

The beta gave Steve a seductive smile and offered his hand. “Hi, I’m Prior.”

Tony wasn’t sure but for a brief moment he thought he saw Steve almost glare at the beta. He accepted the hand either way. “Steve.”

“Steve,” the beta purred. “So what brings you and your pack around the area? Are you here to recruit by any chance? Because I happen to know all the talent available,” he leaned a bit so only Steve could hear but didn’t exactly do a great job lowering his voice. “I also happen to be all the talent available.”

Steve looked to be straining from saying something. “Not doing any recruiting today I’m afraid. Perhaps another time.”

“Oh? Perhaps a different kind of recruiting then?” Prior somehow managed to purr louder. “Just so you know I wasn’t talking about my fighting talent.”

Tony forced himself to ignore the rest of the conversation. He had been pushed aside as if he was nothing and one upped by a younger shifter, a beta, a higher status than him. This was the idyllic mate Steve should be looking for, a young beta, or even a young alpha. He was the Captain, leader of the Avengers. He deserved the best and Tony sure as hell wasn’t that with his old age and his status as an infertile omega.

Tony ignored the little pain in his chest when he noticed Steve still hadn’t let go of Prior’s hand as he sighed and stood. “This table is getting overcrowded. Let's let the others get a chance to use it,” he said when Bruce gave him a questioning gaze.

The omega nodded instantly and rose, excusing himself from Natasha. Tony refused to look at Steve as he said to the Avengers, “It was nice knowing you all. We’ll just let you have a moment with your, uh, admirers.”

Tony lifted Vision from the table’s surface with his good arm and turned to walk back to their temporary shack with Bruce taking up his side. He dared turn to get a glance after a few steps and watched as the many betas and omegas flooded the available space on the table the moment he and Bruce left.

A few more steps and Bruce got the courage to ask, “You all right?”

“I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Tony hastily answered.

Bruce didn’t voice his mind but it was clear he was worried. Before Tony could have processed another thought a voice from behind stopped them on their tracks.

“Tony! Hold on.”

Steve came jogging over, appearing flushed for some reason and with his pack following after him in a more sedated state. A bit stunned as to why Steve and his pack came after him and Bruce and confused he leaned to the side to see the table they were sitting on minutes ago for an explanation. All he found was the betas and omegas sitting and standing with heartbroken faces and the beta, Prior, standing on his two feet with his mouth wide open, face bright red with rejection and humiliation painted all over it. Tony wondered what had happened or what Steve had said for him to look that way.

Steve was smiling again when he caught up to them, reaching out to grasp his good hand. “I’m sorry about that. It tends to happen a lot because of, you know, being a famous war pack. We didn’t mean to get you chased from your table.”

Tony blushed the moment their hands made contact. “Nothing to apologize for. I’m just sorry you didn’t get to finish your food in peace.”

Clint grinned from behind Steve. “Who said we need a table to finish eating? We can eat anywhere, trust us. You got someplace you’re heading we can use?”

Steve cleared his throat, taking the attention from Clint. “Are you doing anything for the rest of the day?”

No he wasn’t, and neither was Bruce, but why did Steve want to know that? Did he really want to stay near Tony, or was this still part of his efforts to pull the prank on him?

The thing was, Steve looked too genuine and open for it to be all a trick. And some of the Avengers were too serious to find a trick like this funny and would probably think it a waste of their time when they could be doing something else, like fighting Hydra and saving lives. This was the Avengers, they wouldn’t be wasting their time for nothing, right?

“No, we’re not doing anything for the rest of the day,” Bruce answered for him, snapping him back to reality.

Steve practically glowed. “Do you both perhaps want to spend time together then? With us, I mean. The pack and I.”

Tony swallowed, looked at the hand holding his and gripped it slightly, nodding. Bruce had answered the first question, giving his permission to hang out with the Avengers if Tony wanted, and honestly? Even if Tony didn’t he couldn't say no to that earnest and hopeful face of Steve’s. It was near impossible to. Maybe he was biased because he had desires, but there was something about Steve that Tony had the urge to please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couples:  
> Steve/Tony  
> Hank/Jan  
> Natasha/Bruce  
> Bucky/Peggy  
> Rhodey/Sam
> 
> And who will win - Clint/Loki or Loki/Thor?  
> You decide!


	6. Dip in the Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for voting again! Here is the winner of the tiebreaker! 
> 
> In a large landslide, the winner is Loki/Thor!  
> Now, because I ship Loki/Thor on odds days and don't on others what I'm going to do for this ship is write their relationship on the thin line of platonic, very close brotherly love and sexually romantic coupling. This means that it's up to you to decide if you see this ship romantic or platonic. If them being brothers bothers you then you can see this as very close brotherly love. If you love Loki and Thor as an actual couple doing snoo snoo then you can see this as romantic. 
> 
> As for Clint, a couple of you suggested adding him in with Rhodey and Sam and I found I really, really love the idea. Expect some big protective Rhodey looking after his two little birds. So for Clint's winning ship it's going to be Sam/Rhodey/Clint. 
> 
> The smut in this fic will only come from Steve and Tony, so if you're worried about sexy times with these ships or any of the other ones you have nothing to fear! However, if you do want to read sexy times for any of the other ships I apologize in advance and I'll try making up for it with somewhat good written smut scenes. 
> 
> Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!

Heading for their shared shack for the Avengers to finish eating their meal in was probably a bad idea. For one the shack was too small to fit them all in. For another that was Tony’s and Bruce’s shack they slept in and they still weren’t absolutely sure about the Avengers. One instinct that all shifters shared was the need to protect their dens, their little homes, the place they rested in from outside dangers. Other shifters outside their pack were dangers for sure and since the Avengers were a well-known war pack they were definitely dangers.

Sure they had shared a table and had talked a bit and changed their stranger status to that of acquaintances but this was their shelter and centuries of survival had engraved the instinct to defend their den deep in their subconscious. So in a silent agreement they had decided going to their shack was a bad idea, and in another silent agreement with the Avengers they also decided staying in the common area was also a bad idea, unless they wanted a repeat with all the betas and omegas surrounding them.

Instead Tony, Jarvis, Vision and Bruce ended up awkwardly following behind the pack as they were led by Sam and Clint who claimed to have seen the perfect spot in the forest while hunting for the deers. They said it was all flat ground and green surrounded by bushes with pretty flowers and trees perfectly set up to block out the harshest of sun rays. There was even a river nearby. The same river, Tony figured, he and Bruce had smelled and planned to go fishing in.

Oddly enough, the leader of the pack was walking with Tony and Bruce behind the line, or more specifically he was walking next to Tony’s left and was close enough to take one step to the right and bump his shoulder and far enough so Tony had room to walk without unwanted touches. His hands were tucked behind his back and his shoulders swayed with every step taken, a big smile on his face. For one reason or another he looked overjoyed from just strolling through the forest. Perhaps he really enjoyed walks or the smell of green and water, or maybe it had been a long time since he walked through a forest for the relaxation of it without the worry of getting attacked. Who knew? Steve must have been thinking of something wonderful in order to be smiling that big.

Also walking close to them was Bruce who took up Tony’s right side and Natasha who took up Bruce’s own right. The grumpy alpha by the name of Bucky walked on Steve’s left. Both he and Natasha appeared to be keeping a watchful eye out and were searching the area every few minutes for any immediate danger. Ahead of them were the rest following dutifully after Sam and Clint while balancing their meals.

When they reached the spot Tony found it was exactly how the two betas described it. There was a spot of open ground with grass decorating the surface and trees that were each partnered with a bush sprouting delicate looking red flowers. There was hardly any sun besides the few rays that managed to pass through the leaves and a few feet away was the river mentioned, softly flowing and making the forest smell of fresh water.

“I claim this in the name of Clint!” Clint said and ran off to sit on one spot that was shadowed and gave the perfect view of the area. He dropped the pack that he carried with him to mark it off.

“You didn’t even give the rest of us a chance,” Sam tsked and rolled his eyes. He decided on the tree next to Clint to lean on, dropping his own pack as well.

The Avengers all claimed a spot one after the other. Each one paired themselves in two and sat in a manner that formed a circle together. The two betas that Sam introduced as Jan and Hank paired up, sitting so close that their shoulders rubbed together. A sure sign that they were mated, and was confirmed when Jan leaned to the side and put her lips under Hank’s jaw briefly.

Next to them was the big fellow that Tony couldn’t identify, Thor, and the other tall fellow who Tony also couldn’t identify, Loki. There was something about them that Tony couldn’t place. It was like Bruce all over again. Something smelled off but what was it this time? What were the odds that there was another Hulk in their shifts? If that was the case then it’d be perfect for Bruce. He wouldn’t feel as an outcast and alone, but Tony highly doubted that.

Maybe that was the reason why the Avengers haven’t reacted to Bruce’s odd scent yet. They were accustomed to odd scents and, unless provoked, wouldn’t make the first move. It was all good news for Tony and Bruce. It meant the Avengers didn’t invite them to a secluded area to attack for one reason or another.

When Bucky and Natasha reached the circle instead of sitting down right away they remained standing, waiting. Tony figured since they were alphas who stuck close to their pack leader and were extremely vigilant to their surroundings they were probably Steve’s second and third in command. Tony, Bruce and Steve reached the circle soon after and shared an awkward moment of pause, mostly because the three alphas weren’t going to move until the two omegas did and the two omegas weren’t going to sit for the reason that, as they were unfamiliar with the pack, they didn’t know if there was an arrangement of sorts with who was paired with who and if some of them were required to sit in certain spots to make keeping watch more efficient.

Seeing as most of the pack was already sitting Tony guessed, if there was any particular order they sit in, they were already set and the available space that completed the circle was for them to sit in any arrangement they wanted. Still, since he and Bruce were strangers to the pack it was only polite to wait until one of the pack members invited them to take a seat, just in case they wanted them somewhere specific.

Tony and Bruce waited for their invite while Steve, Bucky and Natasha waited for them to move. Either the alphas didn’t know it was courteous and expectant to invite anyone out of the pack to join them when spending time together, or this was the moment they were finally going to reveal the whole thing was a joke and order them away with their head down. But since Steve was openly staring at Tony with a smile and fond eyes that had no malicious intent in them Tony guessed it was the former. Nobody cruel could ever pull a face like that.

Perhaps the gesture of inviting someone to sit with pack for something as ordinary as spending time together was outdated? That would explain why these three alphas weren’t doing it, but the gesture couldn’t have been that old. Time couldn’t have moved that fast. They looked to be in their late twenties only.

Their late twenties. Steve, who Tony found very attractive, in his late twenties. That stung Tony a little. If only he had met Steve twenty years prior, in his prime, and hadn't had Hammer as an obstacle in the way, maybe he could’ve had a chance to be the ideal mate for him. Now? Not so much.

Tony looked to the Avengers sitting down and searched for one that possibly knew what he and Bruce were waiting for. One of them had to have known about it. If not because they didn’t practice the gesture then because they learned it from someone who did or heard about it. Most of them didn’t seem to know what he was searching for and stared back blankly. It wasn’t until he locked eyes with Hank, one of the older looking of the group, that realization finally happened.

“Come on and join us. Sit anywhere you want,” he said with a wave of his hand at the available space.

Realization also appeared in Clint’s eyes and he nodded. “Sit your behinds down already. You’re making me nervous standing there.”

Tony and Bruce breathed out in relief. They still ended up looking at the pack leader for approval, just in case. They didn’t want to overstep their boundaries. Steve gave them a nod, flushing slightly. “Sorry, yes go ahead and sit wherever you want.”

Tony decided on the middle spot of the empty space, sitting cross legged. Jarvis, who had been standing on his shoulder the entire time, spread his wings in order to balance himself as Tony leaned down before settling again and nesting. Vision rolled and bumped against his thigh, beeping out a request that the Avengers all curiously looked at him for.

Tony huffed at the little machine before reaching for him and scooping him up from the base with his good arm. “You’re very demanding today. You got me working to the bone.” He lifted the machine so he could roll over his leg and snuggle up on the spot in the middle of his crossed legs. Vision beeped a thank you that was followed up by a sassy remark that Tony completely blamed Jarvis for.

“He gets that from you,” Tony said so to the bird, placing his hand over Vision and petting.

“Considering you raised us both, I believe you are referring to yourself, Sir,” Jarvis whistled back.

“I don’t need your logic. It has no place when I’m trying to put blame on you.”

“Forgive me. I’ll try and remember that for future reference.”

There was movement to his left. Steve sat down with his legs crossed as well and was close enough for his right knee to bump against Tony’s left. “You can understand him? I mean, the sounds he makes, you can understand that?”

Vision whistled at him in response as Tony nodded. “He has a language of his own you learn to interpret over time. There’s emotion in his sounds and expressions in his movement. Piece them together and it makes words.”

Steve looked at him in wonder, making him squirm a little. “That’s incredible that you understand.”

The praise sent a spark of pleasure down his spine, the approval filling his chest with joy. How long had it been since someone complimented him? The last time he remembered approval for something was when he made the gauntlets and presented them to Hammer and Stane and even then it was only a “Finally, I’m getting what I was promise.”

Unused to it Tony was unable to keep contact with Steve as he stared at him in amazement. He turned his gaze down to Vision and muttered a “Thank you.”

Vision turned his head from Steve to Tony and back to Steve, made a long note that could only be defined as the machine’s version of an ‘ooooh, is that it?’ before he released a series of beeps and whistles that had Tony jumping to try and cover up and caused him to turn bright red.

“ _Vision_ ,” Tony hissed, shielding the little machine’s eyes in a manner similar to trying to cover his mouth.

Jarvis did a bird impression of a snort and even covered his beak with his wing to mimic a human hiding their face in amusement. Bruce, who was sitting on Tony’s right, released a chuckle that turned to an open laugh as Vision continued. He managed to pick up some of Vision’s wordings over the course of the time they were together and Tony knew Bruce had an idea of what the machine had said. The Avengers, however, had no clue on what was going on and perked up in interest, wanting to know what had been said that caused Tony to blush furiously. Steve especially. He searched for an explanation, almost desperate to know the reason for Tony’s blush.

“I know for a _fact_ he didn’t learn that from _me_ ,” Tony hissed to Jarvis.

The cockatoo snorted again before nodding. “I believe you are correct, Sir, but young Vision is prone to picking up conversations during our travels.”

“And you _let_ him?”

Instead of answering Jarvis moved his wings in a shrug and said “Is it not true? I believe Alpha Rogers’ interest is obvious.”

The blush stayed in place as Tony was left stuttering at that. “That’s not - no, he’s - that doesn’t mean -” he managed before giving up and covering half his face with his hand. Bruce patted his shoulder in sympathy.

Steve locked on the cockatoo as he would with prey at the mention of his name. He was vibrating from the curiosity of the conversation the Avengers didn’t understand. A question was on his lips but it was Jan that asked first, “What did he say?”

Vision was about to release the string of sounds again but Tony turned him away to face his stomach. “No, that’s enough from you, and don’t you dare, Jarvis.”

The cockatoo faced away innocently, as if the very thought never crossed his mind. Tony knew better.

“Come on, share with the rest of us,” Clint whined.

“No,” Tony said stubbornly, keeping Vision from twisting his body and sending warning looks to Jarvis.

“Aye, I find myself curious at your affairs,” Thor said with a grin.

Tony wondered where exactly Thor was from for him to talk in such a manner. It certainly wasn’t from around the area. “No.”

“Something embarrassing, perhaps? An innuendo of sorts?” Natasha supplied with a smirk that had Tony blushing all over again, giving them their answers.

“That’s enough,” ordered Steve, halting them all. “If he doesn’t want to share then he doesn’t have to.”

As predicted the Avengers followed the order and didn’t say another word about Tony’s situation, but strangely enough they did so with wide grins on their faces. Bucky, who was sitting on Steve’s other side, let out a snort, shook his head and said “Ever the protective one. I get the feeling you’re going to become unbearable after this. I’m going to need drinks.”

Jan tossed parts of her food at him. “Let him be. He’s making up for lost time.”

Tony frowned in confusion at that. Lost time? What was she talking about? He looked to Bruce as if he somehow had the answer to it even though he knew logically he couldn’t. Similar to him the omega was frowning as well, looking at _him_ for answers. Obviously, they both didn’t know what was going on.

“Can I just say,” Clint added, looking at Tony, “it’s about time. You can’t imagine how long we’ve had to put up with him.”

Bucky released a ‘ha’ before he said, “You think that’s bad? Try growing up with him. Nut wouldn’t shut up for days. _Days_.”

Clint hissed in sympathy. “Tough. At least it can finally be over.”

Jan sighed. “Finally over.”

“Aye, congratulations are in order for this most joyous occasion,” Thor said as he lifted one hand holding a bone in the air to mimic a toast.

“Guys,” Steve muttered at them, the beginnings of a flush creeping on his cheeks.

Tony stared at them all in bewilderment. He had no idea what was going on, didn’t understand, and even Jarvis wasn’t following if the way he was twitching with uncertainty was anything to go by. Now he got what the Avengers were going through when they didn’t comprehend what Vision had said. He wanted an explanation but he got the feeling he wasn’t going to get it even if he asked.

“Please ignore them,” Steve said to him, mortified. “They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Tony blinked. “Uh, alright, sure. I have no idea what’s going on, but sure.”

The Avengers exchanged glances between each other, appearing surprised for a brief moment. A pause of silent communication and they were back to grinning again at Steve’s expense.

“Tell you what,” Sam started with a wicked smirk. “Share with the pack what Vision had said and we’ll share with you what we’re talking about.”

Steve released a whine of embarrassment just as Tony automatically said “No,” to the deal. He’d rather go on not knowing the inside joke they shared between themselves than reveal what Vision had said in regards to Steve. It was something the little machine should not have been aware of in the first place, and Tony had done everything he could to prevent him from accidentally rolling in on a heated scene, but somehow the little menace still knew about it and was very blunt on the subject. Tony put all the blame on Jarvis.

Sam accepted his response. “Fair enough, but if you’re ever curious just let us know.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

“You know what this calls for?” Clint suddenly said, looking at Sam with a glint in his eye.

“I don’t want to know,” Sam mumbled, wary.

The dirty blonde beta leaned against him, rubbing slightly. “This calls for a swim! There’s the river over there with our names on it and it's all for us.”

Sam scrunched up his nose and tried pushing the other beta away from him. “Get off me, you stink. If anything you need a bath.”

Clint pulled away, appearing scandalized before shooting back and wrapping his arms around the beta. “You love my stink!”

“What? No! Get off me,” Sam tried peeling off Clint’s octopus-like grip on him. “You’re stinking up the whole forest.”

Tony watched the interaction, grateful that it had shifted away from him. He guessed since the two betas were seemingly very close they were either mates or very good pack-mates. Either way they appeared to be enjoying themselves, even if Sam did have a disgusted look expressed for Clint. In his eyes there was fondness but mostly it was obscured from trying to push Clint off, who was now sitting on his lap.

In an ever growing habit now since meeting the Avengers Tony looked to Steve for a comment on what they were seeing and Steve looked back and shrugged. “They’re always like this.”

Somehow that explained everything and Tony nodded. If given the opportunity he’d probably do the same with Bruce once he was sure physical contact was accepted without the omega flinching. Perhaps one day. In the meantime Sam had managed to dislodge Clint from his lap and was now standing, patting away the dirt on his legs.

Clint was also on his two feet and was in the middle of getting rid of his armor. Armor, Tony noticed now that he was studying it, that didn’t look light and probably wasn’t meant for simple traveling. It was heavy and designed to take blows straight on, unlike the expected quick tussle that occurred from raiders attacking in the middle of the road. Which meant that the Avengers were either heading for a fight against a strong pack or they were returning from just having a fight against a strong pack.

It couldn’t have been the former because why would the Avengers spend time with two omegas from the shacks right before heading for battle? It had to have been the latter, meaning the Avengers were probably in the middle of returning home before they decided for some reason or another to visit the shacks and were now taking a break, with Tony and Bruce, using their free time to spend time with them.

Tony had to wonder why the pack stopped by the shacks in the first place, but whatever the reason for it he was happy deep inside. He never imagined anything interesting happening to him after he became pack-less but this topped the list easily.

While he had been busy with his internal monologue Clint had finished removing his armor and was down to a simple shirt and breeches. The shirt was gone before long and revealed a toned torso that had Tony gaping. It had been a long time since he was allowed to look at someone else besides Hammer. Whenever one member of Hammer’s pack stripped down in order to shift Tony always looked away. Hammer hated it when he stared at someone other than himself and always reminded him of what would happen if he caught him gazing at any of their pack-mates. Tony had always been careful not to. It wasn’t as if any of them had anything to drool over since they were business shifters that were mostly pasty with bulges for stomachs and hardly any muscle. The betas Hammer added for security measures, now those Tony had to be extra careful not to accidentally stare at. They had _some_ muscle, not a lot, but compared to the pasty shifters they were defined and toned.

There was no Hammer to intimidate him now and Clint was freely showing and flexing, causing Tony’s eyes to trail every movement and, all right, he couldn’t look away at the display. The body structure was so different to Hammer’s and Tony wanted to curiously drink in every detail. Then he made the mistake of trailing up the torso to Clint’s face and ended up locking eyes with him. Clint was smirking, having noticed Tony looking and _winked_ at him. Tony felt his face lit up at having been caught and turned away when he heard Steve release a... whine? Steve appeared distraught and was apparently sending Clint a mix of facial expressions that had Clint lifting his hands up in peace but he was still grinning.

Sam had seemingly decided to go for a swim as well and was also down to a shirt and breeches. He wasn’t the only one. Thor was already taking off his last piece of clothing, showing the world his naked glory and revealing to Tony just how big muscles could actually get. If Clint’s toned body had made Hammer’s look like a disgrace, Thor’s body made him look like nothing at all and Tony couldn’t stop the little noise he made at the sight.

“Tony,” Steve interrupted, sounding strained and blocked Tony from looking at the naked shifters. Tony blinked and directed his gaze to Steve’s shining blue eyes. “Do you want to go swim with me - I mean, us - uh, the pack! Do you want to swim with the pack?”

Did he want to swim with the Avengers that required him taking off his clothes and revealing his scarred and malnourished body to shifters who were in their prime and had bodies that sculptors could only dream of creating? No, he really, really didn’t. Tony wasn’t ashamed, per say, he was actually proud that his body wasn’t bulging and flabby like it tended to happen to most shifters around his age. What he wasn’t proud of was his underweight and the scars that decorated his chest. His body was a shadow of its former self, angular and scrawny and not the ideal image of an omega that could bear healthy children. His old wrinkled clothes that he used to wear with pride didn’t even fit him anymore, draping him like a blanket now, and the scars? They were a memory Tony would rather keep locked up and forget about.

So, no, he didn’t want to swim and reveal the mess that was his body to the Avengers.

He swallowed as he shook his head. “No, not today. Bruce, what about you?”

Bruce gave a lopsided smile. “No, thank you. I haven’t done workouts lately. Don’t want to blind you.”

Tony snorted. “The only thing blinding me is your good looks, Brucie. Don’t hide your body from me.”

“I keep telling you not in public, Tony.”

With a grin Tony returned his gaze to Steve and was taken back when he found the alpha looking dejected. Was he really that upset about Tony not joining in their swim? It wasn’t as if they needed him to have fun in the water. He was about to say so when Vision suddenly started releasing a string of noise and tried rolling out of Tony’s crossed legs. Tony unhooked his feet and put them to the side to allow the little machine to roll to freedom.

Vision went directly to where Clint and Sam had been standing a few seconds ago, but instead of the two betas standing on two legs there was a freshly shifted jackal and coyote shaking their furs and licking each other's’ snouts. On the spot where Thor had been standing was a sight that took Tony’s breath away. There was a giant golden lion with spots of dark on his mane. He was yawning and shaking his fur and the reason for Thor smelling odd suddenly clicked in Tony’s head. Thor was a Feline Shifter, or more specifically he was a lion shifter, and he was huge and most likely an alpha, and he was part of a pack instead of being the leader of a pride. In all the years that Tony had read about the Avengers he had never heard of a feline in the pack. One would think with a lion involved it would be the first thing mentioned from a famous war pack, but apparently not. No wonder Vision was excited to roll over to them.

When the little machine reached the lion and made a long note to get his attention the lion leaned his head down to sniff before licking the top of Vision’s head and patting him gently with one of his giant paws. Vision then went on a rolling spree around the lion, gaining the attention of the jackal that Tony smelled was Clint. Wagging his tail Clint began chasing after the machine, and Vision, who simply loved playing, took advantage of the situation and started a game of chase.

The coyote that had to be Sam joined in on the fun and started running after Clint and Vision. Thor joined soon after. The difference between the three shifters were so large that Tony was surprised they managed to run and roll around and playfully bite without accidentally hurting each other. Thor was an alpha, meaning he was larger than the betas, even if he was a feline shifter. If anything being a feline made him bigger than the canines and Tony wouldn't be surprised if Thor turned out to be bigger than Steve. The lion was as big as life.

Tony kept a watchful eye on Vision as he continued his game. Fear began building when the roly-poly machine crept closer and closer to the edge of the river with every turn he made around the open space. While Tony had made it so Vision’s body was durable and did his best to prevent water from seeping inside that didn’t mean he was invulnerable to deep waters. The moment Vision touched water he’d sink like a stone to the bottom and Tony would have to fish him out and start the long process of drying Vision and getting rid of water that managed to leak inside while at the same time trying to soothe his fears away. One thing that Vision was terrified of was sinking to the bottom and permanently staying there in the dark of the waters and being forgotten. He’d rather not have that happening in front of the Avengers

Another turn around the area and Vision neared the edge again, causing Tony to kneel on one leg and prepare himself to sprint and get the machine. His movement made the Avengers still sitting down straighten up and look to the machine for any visible dangers. Steve had a hand up and was reaching out to grasp his shoulder when the giant lion took a sharp turn to pounce on Vision, but instead of pinning him down like he would with prey the circular body of the machine prevented him from getting a hold and sent him rolling forward and over the edge of the river. With a splash Vision began a strand of panicked sounds as he tried with all his might to roll back on land. Even if the Avengers didn’t understand Vision’s language the sounds of hysterics was all too recognizable for them to mistake it for anything else.

Clint and Sam lowered their ears and responded to the sounds with their own whines, running to the edge and pawing at the water for Vision. Tony jumped to his feet, knocking Jarvis off his shoulder and forcing him to fly for the river, and ran to the machine’s rescue. If he had to jump inside the water he’d do so without hesitation, his self-consciousness be damned. What he hadn’t expected was getting splashed down without even reaching the river’s edge.

Thor had taken the situation in his own paws and took a running start to jump over Vision into the river, creating a massive wave that drenched Tony, the jackal and the coyote from head to toes. With a growl of concern Thor padded through the water that reached his chest and began to softly push Vision towards the edge with his nose. Half of Vision’s body that was submerged resurfaced and once the base touched solid land Vision quickly rolled to Tony’s opened arms.

Tony hushed and soothed the little machine, ignoring his own discomfort in his now wet clothing. Jarvis whistled in concern and landed on Tony’s shoulder, helping with the soothing. Thor, Clint and Sam stood nearby with their heads low, no doubt feeling responsible for what had happened.

When Vision calmed down Tony picked him up with his good arm and sent the shifted Avengers a reassuring smile. “He’s fine. Not a huge fan of deep water but he’ll be all right. You did nothing wrong.”

Their heads remained low but at least they didn’t look as guilty as before.

“Let him calm down a bit. He’ll be raring to play some more once he’s dried up.”

That perked their ears up and caused the canines to wag their tails. When Tony turned to walk back to his spot they trotted after him, sniffing Vision and making sure he was injured free. The rest of the Avengers were quiet as they watched him walk back. All of them were shooting worried glances to Vision and him. The moment he sat down again Steve was on him with questions and checking him and Vision over.

The alpha worrying over him had him feeling odd, a good odd, but really he was fine. It was Vision that just had an experience. All he had worth being concerned over was needing new dried wrappings for his sprained wrist now. Also his wet and cold clothing that he needed to take off if he wanted to avoid getting sick, something that wasn’t recommended when going pack-less and living in the shacks.

Unable to avoid not showing the Avengers his insecurities he stood up again with a sigh and took off his wet coat and waistcoat, leaving only his blanket of a shirt on that clung to his skin, revealing his angular body. He took note of all the Avengers looking him over, eyes glued to every detail of his body. When he dared to see Steve he found the alpha drinking in the sight he made, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Tony guessed this was the first time Steve saw an omega as malnourished as him and probably couldn’t believe what his eyes were witnessing.

“I know I’m not exactly eye candy,” he said with hesitation, “but at least I don’t look half bad for my age, right?”

That had Steve snapping his mouth shut before he reached for his pack and pulled out a coat, scrambling to his feet. “You don’t look bad at all,” he said to Tony and offered his coat with a smile, “you’re more than eye candy, but you must be cold. Take my coat.”

Tony blinked at the offered clothing. For a moment he thought the alpha was presenting the coat to hide away his bony body and save the Avengers’ eyesight, but that smile was too caring to be insulting him in any way. His chest fluttered as he reached for the coat and he whispered a ‘thank you’ before turning his body to put it on. When he turned back he found all the Avengers looking away from him and Steve trying his hardest to look innocent but failing. Even Bruce had looked away but he appeared to be holding back a laugh. Tony frowned but left it alone.

Steve put a warm hand on his Jarvis-free shoulder and appeared to be preening. “The coat looks good on you.”

Tony managed to stop the blush fighting its way to his cheeks but couldn’t do anything about the fluttering that was growing in his chest. He was reaching dangerous territory now with his flame for Steve, and if Steve continued what he was doing there was no telling how far Tony was going to sink, or how long it would take him to claw back up again.

He really hoped the pain was at least bearable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't already done so go check out StonyStepsUphill's artwork that was inspired by this fic (linked at the end). It's really beautiful and needs to be seen by everyone who likes this story. Go check it out! But be warned because there's spoilers in the comments. If you don't want spoilers avoid seeing the comments, other than that go tell her how beautiful her work is!


	7. Of Fish and Gestures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, how are ya'll doing?  
> Hope you're having a great day! If not let this chapter try and put a smile on your face!

“Vision for the last time if you don’t sit still I’m going to put you in the bag and hang the bag on a tree,” grumbled Tony for the fourth time.

His response was a very defiant beep from Vision as he rolled his body in a circle before releasing a high sound and speeding off after Clint, Sam, Thor, and the newly added pair to the game, Jan and Hank, who turned out to be dingoes, distinguishable by their fur color and their smell. One had a soft brown color in their fur while the other had a soft and dirty golden hue to it, matching the hair color that Jan and Hank had. Similarly Sam and Clint also had the same colored fur as their hair. Sam having the dark shade a few tones away from being completely ebony and Clint having a darker golden color compared to Hank’s, and even darker compared to Thor’s sunny yellow.

Their fur had Tony sighing longingly. Not for the color but for how smooth and well-kept and healthy it looked. Even Thor’s mane looked properly brushed and Tony doubted he’d find a hair out of place in the many dark strands.

Once upon a time Tony’s fur had looked like that. Shiny and kept and the envy of many shifters. That had been when he was still his own person and his only worry was trying to look his best and not embarrass his father, back when Howard was still alive. Then Howard had to go and dig his own grave when one of his weapons backfired and leave Stane in charge of the Stark pack because Tony had been too young and inexperienced and an _omega_ to take control. And then Hammer happened and the last thing that had been on Tony’s mind was trying to maintain his fur as the years caught up with him.

Now his fur was a disarray and jumbled, faded mess of dark brown that no high end shifter would look twice at. It was a wonder how Hammer had managed to put up with Tony’s least presentable appearance in these last few years. Any omega, or even beta, Hammer had used, from Tony’s knowledge, he would throw away like a sack of useless potatoes the moment he grew bored of them. But not Tony. Never Tony. Hammer was adamant on keeping Tony, no matter what.

Even when he got irritated and showed the signs of losing interest Hammer would simply order Tony away, the closest to throwing Tony out, and share the bed with a young and warm new body he discovered near the town while Tony sat idly by alone on the small and cold bed in an empty room Hammer had used to store his products and inventions. Tony would remain there until Hammer decided he missed him enough to allow him back, push away the young body that had apparently served their purpose and have Tony all over again, until his interest began to diminish and the process was repeated.

Hammer never threw Tony away. He just took a break from him.

That didn’t make Tony feel any better, but he had to look at the bright side. At least he had still remained. The same couldn’t be said about the betas and omegas that fell into Hammer’s clutches. Not even the omega that ended up pregnant was safe. Tony still didn’t know what had happened to that omega and child. One moment they had been there and the next they had disappeared.

Tony had gotten so used to not bothering with his fur that now, even without Hammer in his life, he still didn’t give a second thought to his fur nor had cared, not until he’d seen the fur of the Avengers. Looking at their fur was making him realize how lesser he felt. As if they being the famous war pack that had sent the betas and omegas in the shacks to trip over themselves wasn't enough now he had tone bodies and glossy furs to compared himself to. Hell, even Hulk’s fur had looked better than his own, and Bruce’s body was filled and his clothes fit perfectly against his frame. Something not even Tony had managed.

Tony shifted and leaned against his legs that were no longer crossed and tucked under his chin. His shirt had dried and now hanged loosely, draping over his torso and hips. He felt more than saw how big his shirt was. Steve’s coat, that he was still wearing, covered most of his figure and did an excellent job hiding his upper body and hips and preventing any curious eyes from looking him over. He was thankful for that. Not only because it stopped the Avengers from giving him pitying looks for his scrawniness, but because each time he took a breath the scent of Steve’s alpha musk filled his nose and made him feel relaxed and sated while at the same time made his heart go a few beats faster, heavy in his chest.

Perhaps Tony was taking liberties, but there was something about Steve’s smell that just made him _yearn_. His smell was so different from Hammer’s. It wasn’t harsh or sharp or heated and didn’t make Tony feel as if he was almost choking on it. No, it was soft and fresh and calming and made Tony feel at ease, protected, and made his blood pump slightly. Tony just wanted to bury himself in the coat and never come out.

Of course he couldn’t stay wrapped up forever. Not when time kept moving forward and the sun was getting closer to the center of the sky and his stomach decided it was hungry again and needed to be fed.

Much to his mortification his stomach let out a loud rumbling. One that no Avenger, no matter how far they were currently lying or sitting, shifted or not shifted, were unable to hear. All eyes turned to him, each Avenger looking almost shocked to hear such a loud noise. Even Loki, who did an incredible job keeping his face expressionless, eyed him critically. None of their reactions compared to Steve, though. No, he was looking at Tony as if Tony had obtained a wound and was bleeding out. He appeared seconds away from demanding to know if Tony was alright. 

Bruce, thankfully, didn’t give such a reaction. A month together had given him the edge of what to expect with Tony, considering he was going through the same thing. A few rabbits were hardly a proper meal. Eventually it would catch up to them and their bodies would decide it was done being given scraps and demanded proper sustenance. It was only Tony’s luck that his body decided to do so while hanging out with the Avengers.

Tony fought his hardest to keep the embarrassing blush from coloring his cheeks. Bruce, the hero Tony never knew he needed and was slowly becoming Tony’s love of his life, eased the burning eyes away from him by chuckling and bumping his shoulder against Tony’s. “Great, I thought I was the only one getting hungry here. Time for lunch?”

Tony’s sighed in relief, grateful for having Bruce by his side. “Yeah, I think it’s time for lunch.”

“What would you like?” Steve’s voice nearly caused Tony to jump. He hadn’t expected for the alpha to be so close to him when he asked the question and he certainly hadn’t expecting to see the determined face Steve had on.

“Well, we had planned on catching some fish for lunch,” Tony turned to Bruce for confirmation if their plan was still a go.

Bruce nodded. “I can get started on the rod. Just need the bait.”

“I shall handle that,” Jarvis said and was seconds away from taking off when Clint’s confused growl stopped him.

“Why do you need a rod?” the dirty-golden jackal said through soft barks and snarls. “It'd be easier to just hunt them down than waiting.”

Tony gestured to his injured wrist. “Kind of can’t shift at the moment to go for a swim.”

Bruce awkwardly ran a hand on the back of his neck, radiating discomfort. “I, huh, can’t shift either. For more private reasons.”

Not exactly the truth but the angle Bruce was playing his explanation off on made Tony realize the discomfort he was showing wasn’t real at all. It was all an act. Bruce wouldn’t have been humiliated about the Hulk. If anything he’d be cautious and his body would be filled with tension. He was doing it on purpose, playing on the humiliation to make the Avengers focus on what he wanted them to believe instead of making them suspicious. And from the way all the Avengers seemed to wince in sympathy Tony knew his act was working.

All the avengers were falling for it, all except for one. Natasha didn’t wince and she didn’t appear to accept the explanation. She was searching again, just like before, and Tony really hoped she wouldn’t find whatever she was looking for.

“Sorry to hear that,” Sam barked, ears back in sympathy.

Bruce shrugged, trying to appear mortified.

“Luckily for you we’re here. No need for rod making,” Clint flicked his tail and posed. Turning to Sam he said, “Whoever catches the most fish wins.”

Sam snorted. “You’re on.”

“You don’t have to,” Tony tried stopping them but his words fell on deaf ears as Clint and Sam ran straight for the river and leaped.

The only lion in the pack released a rumble from deep within his chest before proclaiming, very loudly, “None shall out-hunt the mighty Thor!” and jumped after the two betas, creating the massive wave of water again.

Vision made a long sound as he rolled away from the splashing water’s reach and returned to Tony’s side to keep a safe distance from the river that was now inhabited by two canine shifters and a feline shifter that were doing a very poor job in catching any fish and doing fantastically in chasing them away.

“Are they hunting or just splashing about?” Bruce said to Tony.

“Seems a bit of both,” Tony released a laugh when he witnessed Clint swim after something in the water only to collide with Thor. He tried recovering by using Thor as a step and hop over him but instead one of his paws slipped and he landed face first back into the water, knocking Thor over along the way.

For being a war pack highly praised by shifters all over the east side of the continent they sure were energetic and free spirited and not at all in the serious way that was expected from warriors to behave like. It was safe to say Tony was surprised at how easy going they all were, including Loki, considering no one that somber would have put up with a pack such as the Avengers and not lose it.

“Are they going to catch anything anytime soon?” Tony casually said to the leader of the pack but when he turned he found Steve wasn’t even sitting next to him anymore. Instead, Steve was standing next to the nearest tree on their spot and was in the middle of removing the pieces of armor over his legs and groin area, leaving his shirt and pants as the only source of cover that left little to the imagination.

Tony nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight. It was one thing to see Clint and Thor display themselves. It was another to see Steve, the Captain, the one Tony had gotten the beginnings of a flame started for, parading in front of him. It was a cruel little tease. Tony was able to see and imagine with pathetic longing, but he wasn’t able to touch because reality was a huge barrier in his way. Then the shirt was gone, revealing all the muscle glory, and Steve had his thumbs inside the edges of his pants and was seconds away from taking them off. In confused panic Tony tore his eyes away. His gaze might have been unwanted attention on Steve’s part and the last thing Tony wanted was forcing his stare on someone who didn’t want it from him.

Still, when the Avengers who were standing and sitting down and not splashing about straightened up and gave acknowledging looks towards Steve’s direction Tony gave in to his desire and took another peek only to come upon the sight of a giant, golden wolf shaking his fur and shuffling his paws, and then Tony knew the reality of what was going on.

It was all truly a joke.

He had been right from the start. The Avengers bothering to talk to lowly omegas such as Bruce and himself and Steve holding his hand and letting him borrow his coat and showing him the slightest hint of interest. It was all a prank, payback for Tony having run into the traveling pack that morning without warning because the golden wolf Tony was currently looking at was the same wolf he had ended up rubbing noses and nearly colliding with.

The Avengers were the same traveling pack Tony had interrupted and now they were getting their revenge. That had to be the reason why they were giving him and Bruce attention. There was no other explanation. God, he had dragged Bruce into this _mess_. Now he was going to be made a fool of and Bruce was going to go through unnecessary discomfort and probably think spending time with Tony was more trouble than it was worth and ditch him, all because he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.

Tony suddenly got the urge to take the coat off, throw it at the nearest tree and speed-walk as far away from the Avengers as possible. Of course before he could even comprehend what the first move required to take off the coat the golden wolf with the blue eyes that could have only been Steve was right in front of him, face to face, and had a fish in his mouth somehow and held it out for him to take. Blindsided, Tony reached for it out of reflex, gaping at what was occurring. For a leader of a pack such as Steve, offering his food only ever happened to those he considered mate. In shifted form the leader always ate first, followed by second and third in command and then by alphas outside the chain, then betas and finally omegas. The leader only ever shared their meal during their turn with their mate, or mates.

In this case, Steve, leader of the Avengers pack, was offering fish to Tony while shifted. Offering what was basically a meal and sharing with Tony, sharing with… ‘mate.’ Tony’s brain might have stopped for a full minute, possibly longer, and no one could blame him for it. This was Steve doing the act.

During his time of brain shut down Steve had ended up forming a small pile of fish right at Tony’s feet without him even realizing it. It was more than enough fish for a proper meal to the point that leftovers were going to be on the menu for dinner. When Steve deemed the pile of fish enough he sat in front of Tony’s feet and wagged his tail, waiting.

Tony still had the first fish Steve had given him in his hand and held it up dumbfounded. Then he remembered this was all just an act on Steve’s part and he quickly placed the fish with the rest and did his best to both ignore the pile and ignore Steve’s wolfish happy face. This was all a lie. Steve didn’t actually want him as a mate and Tony shouldn’t fall for it, no matter how open and earnest Steve appeared. The alpha was a very good actor.

Tony cleared his throat. “Thank you. This is more than enough.”

Steve released a happy sound and his tail gained speed. He trotted over to Tony’s left side and laid down on his belly, tongue out in a happy grin and tail still wagging. If the alpha decided to lean just a couple of inches to his right he’d end up rubbing his fur against the coat Tony was wearing. Tony was tempted on placing a hand over the fur but held himself back. He couldn’t play along with the joke. He needed to stop it. The first step in doing so was returning back to the shacks and since he had a pile of raw fish he had the perfect excuse to use.

“You happen to have a pan of sorts to cook fish?” he asked Bruce.

The omega shook his head, eyeing him. Bruce must have picked up on Tony’s sudden attitude change. “No, but I can improvise. Plenty of flat stones to use.”

“Want us to search for wood to use?” Jan asked through growls.

“No,” Tony quickly said, wincing at how loud the word was. “No, you don’t have to. Really.”

“What if we want to?” Jan countered, tilting her head to the side. “It’s no trouble at all. We can set up a little campfire here.”

Dammit, there went his only excuse to leave for the shacks. He could try outright saying he didn’t want to be there but who knew how the Avengers would react. If they couldn’t embarrass Tony for revenge they could retort to a physical confrontation instead and the last thing they wanted was to give Hulk a reason to make an appearance.

He looked to Bruce, his last backup, with pleading eyes that he’d hope the other omega would understand. If Bruce said no than they’d have a reason to leave and prevent any confrontation of sorts. It was only Tony’s luck that Bruce decided to go for the complete opposite of what he wanted. Instead of getting the bashful “thank you, but I’d rather cook our meals over at the shacks if it’s all the same to you,” Tony got Bruce nodding and shrugging absent-mindedly.

“I’ll help in searching for some wood,” Bruce had said, moving to stand up.

Jan jumped up on her four feet. “No, no, you stay put. We’ll gather the wood and be back before you know it.” She nipped Hank’s snout to encourage him to get up and the pair sped off into the trees to gather what they needed.

Bruce was left staring at the spot the pair was just laying on seconds ago. Looking disoriented he adjusted to sit comfortably again, frowning, thinking about something to himself. Tony had the urge to ask what was going through the omega’s mind when a soft yip had him turning to the alpha next to him. Steve still had the smile on his face and his tail wagging. He lifted a paw and patted the ground before saying in snarls, “Do you want any fruits or berries? I can search for some.”

 _He’s really determined to make me a fool_ , Tony thought, feeling the disappointment stab him through his chest. And he had been overjoyed by the attention he was receiving from the alpha, from the Avengers. Now, however, he wanted nothing more than to crawl in his and Bruce’s shared shack and curl up and possibly sleep for two days straight, or for as long as it took to forget about the Avengers in general.

“I’m fine, Captain. You really don’t have to,” he muttered while curling further around his legs, causing the sleeves of the coat wrapped over his knees to cover the bottom half of his face and assault his nose with the alpha musk. It had been a mistake to do so because he felt himself unconsciously relax from it.

If Steve had taken notice of Tony’s use of ‘Captain’ in order to place distance he didn’t say anything. His smile, however, did disappear and his tail slowly stopped wagging. He was the spitting image of a sad animal, and Tony almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Steve was an excellent actor, but Tony wasn’t going to fall for it.

The only Avengers that weren’t shifted and weren’t  jumping around in the water, Natasha, Bucky and Loki, exchanged glances with each other and Steve, doing more silent communication that Tony finally figured out was the prank they were planning. Obviously they hadn’t been counting on him figuring in it out and now had to adjust to make it work.

All this work they were doing just to get a laugh at Tony’s expense. Maybe he should just let them play it out and get it out of their system. It would get them back home faster and out doing important things like taking down more Hydra packs. The cruelty wouldn’t be any different from what Hammer had always done, and on the bright side it would only be once and then he’d never see the Avengers again. He had experienced worst humiliation. He could handle whatever the Avengers had planned for him.

“On second thought,” Steve’s ears perked up, “fruits or berries do sound good. Jarvis will probably want some, too.” Tony took a deep breath. “Do you mind?”

Steve jumped to his paws, looking rejuvenated. “Not at all! I’ll go get them for you.”

The alpha disappeared into the brush just as Clint, Sam and Thor decided to return back on land. Their furs were wet, they were dripping water all over the grass and they each had a variety of numbers of fish in their mouths each. Behind them near the edge of the river were three piles of fish, the biggest stacked up behind Thor. Clint and Sam looked to be a close tie.

“Dinner is served,” Clint said after putting the fish he carried down. “You're welcome.” That earned him a snort from Natasha, Bucky and Loki. “Where'd everyone go?” he continued after noticing three of his pack members gone.

“The dingoes went to search for wood. Steve went to get fruits and berries for our friend here,” Natasha answered.

That earned her a snicker from Clint. “You go, Cap.”

 _Yeah_ , Tony thought heavy hearted, _you go, Cap._

Before long Jan and Hank returned with sticks in their mouth. They went back and forth from the spot they were resting to where the rest of the wood was apparently located. A fair sized camp fire was established soon enough and all they were missing was the improvised rock pans to start cooking. Those who were in their canine and lion forms quickly split the fish among the Avengers, creating piles all around, and waited patiently. When Bucky gave them the sign to go ahead they dug into the fish ravenously.

As Tony watched them eat their fill a problem came to mind. Bruce hadn't been given any of the prey to eat. Tony had fish given from the pack leader but he couldn't offer any to Bruce, lest he wants to be rude and outright insult Steve by giving away the food he had hunted down specifically for him.

Then the most peculiar thing happened. Before Tony could voice his concern Natasha faced Bruce with the most expressionless face possible and held out her hand that had a fish for him to take. This would have been fine and normal had she just given it without a second thought or second glance. Doing so would’ve meant she was giving the fish as a friendly gesture, but Natasha was staring right at him and held out her hand with purpose, waiting for him to either accept or reject the fish. For human form this was the equivalent of a canine sharing their meal with interest to another canine, almost similarly to a leader eating first with their mate.

Tony was surprised, but he wasn’t as surprised as Bruce appeared as he stared dumbfounded at the prey. However, none of their reactions even came close to what each and every Avenger was expressing. All of them, including the expressionless Loki, were openly staring and gob smacked and had their mouths wide open (even the ones that had a mouth full of chewed fish, _Clint_ ).

There was a story there but Tony was too busy waiting for Bruce’s response to think further on why Natasha’s proposition was so shocking. They all got their answer when the omega shakily reached out and grabbed the offered food, head down as he tried to hide his face.

The Avengers continued staring as Natasha offered more fish and then gave them a glare and a growl, causing them to continue what they had been doing and act as if they didn’t witness anything.

That was when it hit Tony.

He had doomed Bruce to suffer with him because of his carelessness. The Avengers were now going after the other omega associated with Tony. To humiliate Tony and anyone close to him. Make them all hurt.

But then again, Natasha didn’t appear as the type of shifter to waste her time on something as foolish as pranks, even though she was currently doing one on him. Had she been ordered by Steve to follow through and put up with their joke? That would explain why she was participating. After all, she looked like she’d kill any inconveniences that served no purpose and got in her way.

Perhaps along the way of trying to bring Tony down she gained genuine interest for Bruce. The mystery behind him had her watching intently and before she realized it attraction set in. If that were the case Tony wished his omega buddy all the luck in the world. He deserved it.

Bruce cleared his throat and made to get up, “I’ll go and search for a stone,” but before he could actually set a foot down Natasha reached behind her and offered a flat stone that was perfect to use as a pan. Tony didn’t know when the red-headed alpha found the time to disappear and search for it when he was pretty sure she had been sitting with them the whole time and never moved a muscle. Did she carry flat stones with her for the hell of it? Tony didn’t know if he wanted the answer to that.

“Oh, thank you,” Bruce grabbed the stone and placed it over the fire, arranging fish from the ones given to him and given to Tony.

The fish were beginning to sizzle just as Steve returned with two branches in his mouth that had apples and peaches connected to them. The alpha had an awkward waddle as he tried his best to keep the fruits attached and not accidentally knock them off. He put them down next to Tony and puffed his chest out in pride, tail wagging and eyes sparkling.

Tony eyed the fruits hungrily and seeing as the fish still weren’t done he threw all reasoning for not accepting the offered food out and reached for a peach. He couldn’t stop the moan that escaped him when the sweet taste filled his mouth. It had been a while since he last ate a peach. The things were glorious.

A whine from Steve stopped him from taking another bite. Right, he had forgotten to thank the alpha.

“It’s delicious,” he said, licking his lips and watching Steve follow the movement with his eyes. “Thank you for this.”

Steve licked his own snout and stared at him intently. Tony began fidgeting under the gaze and was about to make an off comment when Steve leaned in and licked the top of his hand holding the peach. It was an affectionate gesture that bordered on acceptance. What Steve was accepting Tony didn’t know but he sure as hell wasn’t prepared for when Steve decided to pump his head against his arm and pushed to snuggle under it. He paused and waited for Tony’s response, hope swirling in his eyes, and while Tony hesitated he still felt the warmth that came from having someone so close and willingly cuddle up with him.

A moment of pause before Tony tightened his arm around Steve’s neck and shoulder, cuddling him closer. The alpha released a happy whine and snuggled his head over Tony’s lap, tail wagging faster than ever before. He gave Vision a lick when the little machine rolled curiously closer to him, earning a high pitched pleased sound.

Jarvis flapped his wings and whistled for Tony’s attention. “Will you be finishing that, Sir?” he asked while eying the bitten peach.

“Yes, I am. Go get your own,” Tony said with as much sass as he could muster.

“Very well.” Jarvis glided from his shoulder, sank his claws on the peach and took off before Tony could even react and stop him.

The heartbroken look Tony must have had from having his fruit stolen triggered Steve to quickly snatch another and push it in his uninjured hand before snuggling even closer, if possible. Tony waved a fist at Jarvis then took a bite of the peach for show.

“You win this round, Jarvis. Next time you won’t be so lucky.”

“As you’ve said for the last 34 rounds. One day you shall be victorious, Sir. I have faith.”

“Damn snarky bird,” Tony muttered as the shifters around them began chuckling. Steve's body heat a constant reminder on his lap and side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think~


	8. Getting To Yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to those who have seen Civil War/are about to see Civil War. You are all brave souls and you make the world a better place. Come back to me safe and sound, ya'll hear?

The sun was starting to set in. The golden rays of orange and red were left to illuminate their surroundings before the cool and dark color of the night seeped in and took over. The excitement of the day had taken its toll on some of the Avengers as Jan and Hank cuddled up together and Clint falling asleep on his spot with his head falling slowly only for him to whip it up again revealed. Sam was no better lying down and curling up next to Clint. All of their eyes appeared heavy with sleep, including Thor and even Bruce. The only ones who remotely looked awake were Tony, Bucky, Natasha and Loki, though the latter kept resting his eyes every once in awhile and was probably seconds away from falling into a blissful slumber.

As for Steve, Tony was positive the alpha had fallen asleep on his lap. He hadn’t moved for sometime now besides the expanding and contracting of his ribs when he breathed. And while it was all fine and dandy for the alpha Tony’s back was starting to ache from having sat hunched over and he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. It was going to be torture moving them. On top of that he and Bruce needed to return back to the shacks, lest they wanted a new wandering beta or omega thinking their shack was free and claim it for their own.

Hesitant, because he couldn’t bring himself to remove the warmth but it had to be done, he laid a gentle hand over the wolf’s head, petting softly and tapping a finger to encourage wakefulness. Steve stirred and the twitch of his ears were the signal that he was conscious, but instead of getting up like Tony had hoped he decided he still wanted to sleep and tucked his face inside the coat Tony was wearing and rest his snout over his side.

Tony huffed and began tapping again. “You have to get up eventually. I can’t exactly walk back to the shacks with a hunk of wolf taking up my lap.”

Steve apparently decided to ignore him and continue napping.

“I can’t feel my legs.”

Still napping.

“I need to take care of business?”

Nothing.

Tony sighed and looked to the three shifters still awake. Bruce, even through his sleepy haze, chuckled at the situation he found himself in. Natasha and Bucky both looked at their leader and gave very exaggerated eye rolls respectfully, probably wondering why their leader was taking extreme measures and making a fool of himself for the sake of a joke.

“Help?” Tony tried. If they were just going to sit there and find his situation annoying and amusing the least they could do was offer assistance. Not even Jarvis, who was nesting and napping on Bruce’s shoulder, bothered to twitch.

It was Natasha who took pity on him and got up with a huff. She marched over to him, kneeled down so she could take a closer look at the sleeping alpha and _slapped_ Steve’s head. Tony didn’t even get a chance to comprehend what had just happened. One second he was sitting upright and the next, before he could blink, he was shoved down on his back with enough force to knock the wind out of him. He was being pushed down by a massive wolf who hovered protectively over him and growled. Steve was low enough that their stomachs were touching but still had enough room between him and the ground to have his legs wound up for him to strike at any dangers.

Natasha had abandoned her kneeling pose and was standing upright a safe distance away from the growling alpha. It seemed Steve had been growling as an instinctive reaction to scare off potential dangers after having been woken up abruptly because once he realized he was staring at Natasha his growling seized and his body relaxed, but he didn’t move.

“What was that for?” Steve said as he shook his head.

She gave him an unimpressed look. “The sun is setting in. Our guest want to head back. You weren’t letting him get up.”

It was then that Steve realized he was hovering over Tony. He jumped back, almost tripping himself, and looked apologetically at Tony. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”

Tony sat up, trying to regain mobility of his legs. “It’s fine,” _not exactly, can’t feel my legs_ , “time flies when you’re sleeping.”

Steve released a whine. “You should’ve woken me up. You’re probably tired and I’m keeping you here. Does anything hurt?” The alpha probably took notice of an involuntary wince when Tony tried to move his feet.

Tony waved away the concern, not daring to see the well executed act. “Just need to get the feeling back on my legs.” He tried to plant his feet under him but they bent awkwardly and uncomfortably at his ankles when he put pressure down. He couldn’t feel anything from the numbness but he knew there was supposed to be pain flaring up his leg.

“Bad idea,” Bruce hissed when he saw his leg bending in ways it was never meant to, looking more awake than before. “Best not get up yet until you gain full mobility.”

“But the sun is going down. Our shack.” _My bag_ Tony nearly whispered.  His bag he left behind in their shack that had his gauntlets in them that he swore nobody was ever going to use on an innocent shifter or against him ever again.

A beta or omega arriving and in search for a shack could enter theirs to check if it’s free. And even though their scents were recent and enough to ward off others it would only take seconds to scan the shack and find a bag on the corner and a curious or desperate person to snatch it up and disappear with the contents hidden inside. Tony promised himself no one was ever going to get their hands on those gauntlets.

“Our scent is still fresh. No one will try to claim it as their own, and even if they do we’ll just explain it to them.”

Steve padded the ground in order to get their attention. “We’ll help if that’s the case. It’s our fault for keeping you so long.” He gestured to Natasha with his snout.

By this point Tony was tired of constantly trying to say ‘you don’t have to,’ so instead he just nodded. Agreeing was faster than arguing and this way at least it would get them to their shack sooner.

At the nod Steve got up and padded over to his pack and tucked clothing and armor. As he walked his body began to shift. His fur and tail receded as did his ears and a few steps away from reaching his pack he switched from padding on four to padding on two and stood straight in all his naked glory. Tony quickly turned away and found interest in Vision’s sleeping form, petting the top of his head in an attempt to distract himself. Vision didn’t respond and Tony figured he was going to have to carry the little machine back to their shack in the foreseeable future.

The feeling on his legs was almost back by the time Steve finished dressing to something decent with his shirt and pants and boots. His legs were in the middle of the pins and needles phase and Tony didn’t dare to move a single muscle associated with the appendages, but Bruce was already up on his feet with a now awake blurry-eyed Jarvis puffing his feathers, Natasha had her arms crossed over her chest and Steve was standing with his arms behind his back and swaying his body with a smile on his face. They were waiting for him and Tony had learned overtime not to keep others waiting for him. Hammer hated waiting.

Ignoring the stinging sensation that burned up his legs Tony planted his feet under him and pushed himself up, remembering to snatch Vision on the way. The machine continued his make-shift sleep undisturbed.

“Alright?” Bruce eyed his legs.

“Ready to go. I don’t know about you but I just want to lay down.”

Jarvis whistled in agreement before curling up and nesting again on Bruce’s shoulder. Tony adjusted Vision on his hip and began the walk back to the shacks with wobbly legs and a limping strut. There was no way it didn’t go unnoticed and, just as Tony was learning to expect after hanging out with the Avengers for the day, Steve automatically went to his side with a concerned face and said “Are you alright to walk? We can wait for you,” keeping character.

He just had to get to the shacks and then this whole ordeal could finally be over. Just survive the walk back. “I’m fine. The feeling will eventually go away. If we don’t go already the sun will be gone by the time I can walk properly.”

Bucky snorted loud enough to hear from where he was still sitting. Tony didn’t understand at first until he replayed the words he said and, oh, that did not sound right. He refused to get embarrassed and refused to look at Steve or Natasha. He may have given the Avengers something to laugh at him for but he was not going to give them the satisfaction of a reaction. This was Hammer all over again. He had done it before he could do it again. It didn’t affect him. It didn’t. He had gone through worse. It shouldn’t affect him.

Too bad his emotions didn’t agree as the familiar heavy pang of dejection filled his chest. This should be no different from Hammer, but the faces of well-known heroes attached to the jabs were not helping.

With a sigh Tony continued walking, determined not to let the prickling pain in his legs show, and if his head hung a little lower than before, well, it wasn’t like any of them were going to point it out. It was what they wanted to see, after all.

The crunching of grass and leaves with the sound of the occasional chirping bird were the only sounds that decorated the quiet forest. The light of the campfire slowly disappeared as they got further away and the shadows of the night began to fill the space of the sun’s light. Before they knew, and with no small amount of relief for Tony, the shacks appeared over the horizon and if Tony didn’t have Vision in his arms and Bruce by his side he would’ve made a run for it and curl up on the ground and sleep the night and perhaps the next day away.

They were almost there with the nearest shack a run away when Steve called out his name and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned around and realized that Bruce and Natasha were standing a distance away behind them, Natasha saying a few words that had Bruce rubbing his hands together timidly. Tony snapped his eyes to Steve when the alpha said his name again.

“Tony, I - would you - I know this is out of nowhere,” the alpha stuttered, licking his lips and swallowing nervously. “This morning Natasha asked if you wanted to join the Avengers and you said you’d think about it.”

Ah, this again. Tony’s heart sank. This was the part where Steve asked and Tony would say yes only for the alpha to reveal it had all been a joke.

“...and I wanted to know if you’ve decided yet. I mean, you spent time with the pack and got to know us. Clint, Sam and Jan already like you and everyone adores Vision and think Jarvis is great. I know we have the title of famous war pack hanging over our heads but we’re really not that different, just another pack, and we’d love to include you in it. That is, if you’d like to join,” Steve managed, looking like he was going to pass out any minute.

The sad part about the whole thing? Had Steve not shifted to reveal himself to be the same alpha he had run into, Tony would’ve said yes. He would’ve fallen head first and done exactly what the Avengers had wanted him to do, say yes and watch it get thrown right back at his face. After spending the day and seeing _who_ exactly the Avengers were Tony found he wouldn’t have mind joining them for whatever they wanted him for. Maybe they wanted him as a pack mother? From what he had seen none of the Avengers appeared to be a pack mother and they were probably on the hunt for one. Tony didn’t have any experience being one, but he could learn. For the sake of his pack he’d learn everything he could.

If not the pack mother then maybe they wanted him to be the stay-at-den omega and look after their place while they traveled the roads and defeated peace-disturbing scoundrels and have meals ready for when they returned. Of course he knew nothing about cooking, but he knew about keeping a place clean, Hammer made sure of that.

But if the Avengers wanted him for another reason, a specific reason that involved sharing him around or even just being given for one to use… Tony would still say yes. That was basically all he was with Hammer with a side of creating weapons. He wasn’t a mate. The word didn’t even come close to describing their relationship. No, Tony had years to think about what he had been to Hammer and he had learned to accept it. The Avengers didn’t know he could create. What else would they want Tony for if not for pack mother or a den omega? What else would Tony be good for?

It wouldn’t be any different. Tony wouldn’t mind if they only wanted him to relieve sexual frustration. Perhaps that was all he was meant to be.

It was too bad Steve revealed everything before he could’ve said yes.

“Look, Steve,” Tony started, trying his hardest to not stare at the blue of the alpha’s eyes but failing, “I’m honored, truly honored,” _I was happy_ , “that you and your pack want me to join, but let’s be honest here, what will I contribute to your pack?” Tony tried his hand at a smile but it came out brittled. “I don’t know much about fighting. I’ll just end up holding your pack back.”

The dejected look Steve had made Tony want to lash out. There was no reason for Steve to pull that face, and not being able to complete a prank and embarrass someone for a laugh wasn’t enough of a basis to deserve such an expression.

“You could contribute a lot,” the alpha countered. “Jan and Hank didn’t know anything about fighting when they joined. In fact, Hank doesn’t care about fighting at all. He likes observing and studying instead, but he helps us a great deal. And Clint isn’t the greatest fighter. He prefers shooting from a distance but can throw a punch or two if he needs to. You don’t have to know how to fight to join,” Steve rambled. “It’s just, we’d really like to get to know you, Tony.”

Steve reached out a shaky hand and gently held the un-wrapped fingers on Tony’s injured arm with his own. “I’d like to get to know you, if you’d let me.”

Tony took a sharp intake of breath, pulled his fingers away and took a step back, ignoring Steve’s stricken expression. “Will you stop already,” his voice trembled. “Stop all of this. I’m sorry, alright? Is that what you want to hear? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to run into you. I didn’t know you were walking down the road, I couldn’t see you. I wasn’t trying to hurt you or your pack. I ran the moment I could to get out of your way.”

Tony hadn’t realized his voice was getting louder and that Bruce, Jarvis and Natasha were now looking his way. His attention was aimed at Steve who was shocked and had his lower lip wobbling. Tony paid it no mind. He had to finish what he was saying to finally get the alpha to stop. “If this is your way of getting back at me, I get it. I’ll never bother you or your pack again. Just please stop whatever it is you’re doing. I’m not -” he cleared his throat and looked down. _I’m not strong enough for the cruelness of false hope._

The silence that followed stretched out for what seemed like hours to Tony. His eyes had closed when he looked away and so he had no idea what Steve’s reaction was or would be. He flinched when he felt warm fingers touch his chin and tilt his head up and inhaled when another set of fingers gently caressed his cheek.

“Tony,” Steve’s voice was surprisingly soft, kind, “could you open your eyes for me, please?” Tony did what he was told, coming to the sight of Steve’s caring eyes that were looking at him as if he was the world. “Is that what you thought we were doing the whole time? Getting back at you for running into us?”

When he said it like that it did sound ridiculous, but Steve had no right to frown. What else was Tony supposed to think of the situation?

“We’re not cruel, Tony,” Steve continued, growing fond. “We’d never pretend to like you in order to play some cruel prank. Heck, once we got over our initial shock of you appearing out of nowhere we didn’t give it much thought afterwards. We were too focused on finding you. Or, well, I was.” A blush appeared on the pale skin. “When I saw you I wasn’t exactly sure, but I had this feeling that I needed to find you again to see. It’s hard to explain, but please know that me asking you to join the Avengers is genuine. We’d really like to include you.”

Steve licked his lips, locking his eyes with Tony’s. “I- I’m interested in you, Tony, and I’d want nothing more than to get to know you. I know this is sudden. You don’t have to join if you don’t want to. Don’t feel obligated to because of my interests, but if you maybe feel something for me and you’d like to get to know me as much as I want to get to know you, we’ll be waiting for you over by the river where we left the pack.”

Tony felt his injured hand shake slightly. It wasn't a joke? Could Tony truly believe that? Why would someone like Steve even bother to look his way? Stuff like this only happened in dreams, and Tony had dreamed plenty of times to know his expectations were unreachable and dreams usually ended with him waking up to a cold morning, alone and no caring mate holding him.

They were wistful ideas and were supposed to remain as such. Tony wasn't actually supposed to get the sun and stars.

“You're not interested in me,” Tony blurted without thinking.

Steve’s forehead scrunched up. “I am interested.”

“No, you're not,” he repeated. He might have said it with no reason but Tony was sticking to it, proof or not.

“Tony I'm telling you I am. You may not believe me and I don't know why you're so adamant not to, but I know what I want and that's getting to know you. I'll court you day and night for the rest of our years if that's what it takes, as long as you let me.”

Tony would let him. Great deity of the sky he would let Steve do whatever he wanted if it meant having him.

“Will you?” The alpha ran a finger down Tony’s neck and to his shoulder.

Tony's mind blanked out for a second. He opened his mouth to ask what Steve meant but couldn't find the words.

“Will you join our pack and let me court you?” The fond look was back. “This isn't me playing around. I truly wish to.”

“I don't want to leave Bruce.” Avengers or not, Tony wasn't going to leave behind the first friend he'd made since Hammer happened, since Rhodey left for his Military pack, since Pepper left for her business pack and Happy followed her.

Something brief passed in Steve’s eyes but was gone before Tony could decipher it. “He's welcome to join, too. The invitation goes to you both.” The alpha turned his head to look at the omega they were speaking of, prompting Tony to follow his gaze.

Bruce and Natasha were back to talking amongst themselves, or talking as much as they managed. Natasha said a word, Bruce followed it up, silence, another word, Bruce chuckled nervously and continued rubbing his hands.

“I think Natasha has taken a liking to your friend. I might not survive the night if she hears I separated the two of you.” Steve faced Tony again. “We'd like for you both to join.”

“I'll have to talk to Bruce first.”

“Of course,” the alpha’s smile wobbled a bit. “We'll be leaving tomorrow. If we don't see you, then we'll know your answer and leave you alone. If that's the case then… I'd like to do something, with your permission.”

Tony nodded cautiously, heart speeding up and his breath getting stuck somewhere in his lungs, refusing to move. Steve leaned in, eying his lips and running a finger across his jaw. He moved forward, aiming for his lips only to switch direction at the last possible second and pecked his cheek instead. Even so Tony felt the tingling sensation the moment their skin made contact and closed his eyes as he leaned into it.

“Goodbye, Tony,” Steve said when he pulled back. “Take care of yourself.”

“You, too,” Tony managed to Steve’s retreating back. The alpha gave a curt nod to Bruce and continued to Natasha, the red-headed alpha turning to head back the same direction they came from when he reached her.

Jarvis flew from Bruce’s shoulder to Tony’s, releasing a whistle and giving him a stern look. A look that seemed fitting on a parent ready to scold their child.

“What?” Tony had no idea what he had done for him to receive that look, from his bird of all people.

“I believe the custom for when one is interested in the affection of another is they must ask for permission first from their guardian, Sir,” Jarvis carefully nipped his ear.

Tony gaped. “Did you just scold me for Steve kissing me without your permission?”

“Yes.”

From his side he felt movement followed by the scandalized sound of Vision apparently sharing the same sentiment as Jarvis.

Tony glared at the little machine. “Oh, _now_ you wake up?”

Another beep.

“It’s not my fault you decided to wake up right as it was happening.”

High pitched long noise.

“I must agree with Vision, Sir. I approve of Mister Rogers, but I ask that you both not share the same room for the night.” Tony could practically _see_ the smile on the cockatoos face.

“Oh. knock it off,” he muttered, glaring at the two. “I’m not a child. If I want to share the same room for the night I will and you both better leave if you don’t want to see.”

“Actually, Tony, Steve didn’t ask me for permission either,” Bruce added, a smirk growing. “I don’t know how I feel about you both sharing a room together.”

“Not you, too, Brucie,” Tony pouted, groaning when Vision released a series of beeps. He turned and started walking towards the shacks in a huff, keeping in mind how easy it would be to loosen his grip on the little roly poly. Maybe that’ll teach him for pretending to be asleep.

Thankfully none of them continued to tease him as they reached their (still empty) shack. He made a beeline for his pack, placed Vision next to it and adjusted his make-shift bed of blankets and his dried coat… that he was not wearing right now… he was holding his coat and wearing…

That was when he realized he was still wearing Steve’s coat. He had forgotten to return it! There was no way Tony could keep the coat. It was an elegant coat, at least compared to Tony’s old red, worn, stitched version. The silver buttons and artistic edge designs made the coat look high-priced and the blue coloring made it fresh and graceful, and... new. Things that were no longer associated with Tony.

Surely Steve would have wanted his coat back. Why didn’t he remind Tony of it?

And that was when it clicked. Steve was using his coat as an excuse to make Tony seek him out. Of course he was. Steve wasn’t going to willingly hand over a costly item such as his coat as a gift to him. Sure the alpha had said he wanted to court him (something Tony still couldn’t believe he had heard. He must have imagined it. He should be waking up any minute now), but that didn’t mean he was going to gift Tony with expensive items.

Sneaky alpha. It seemed Tony was going to indulge him after all. It was only right that Tony returned the coat, even if he didn’t have a proper answer to Steve’s question.

Pulling the edges of the coat’s neck to cover the bottom half of Tony’s face he inhaled Steve’s smell and allowed it to engulf him. He sat down and curled himself over the blankets and coat and already he could feel the beginnings of an ache on his back. He hesitated shifting. The massive change in bone structure when going from human to wolf, or vice versa, meant that there was a huge possibility for his injured wrist to get further damaged during the process, and Tony would very much like to have his hand heal already.

He tried to get as comfortable as possible and wondered how Bruce managed this every night. The other omega must have a back of steel because already Tony would feel his side burn from the pressure. He shifted when Vision made it clear that, human or wolf, he was going to sleep right besides Tony’s belly, determined to be in the center and have someone curl around him. In doing so Vision ended up hiding under the blue coat and released a content sigh.

Tony snorted but none the less curled himself a bit more to have his inner thigh wrap slightly around the little machine. Then Jarvis decided he didn’t want to get left behind and abandoned his usual spot on Tony’s shoulder and casually walked to where Vision had disappeared and entered the coat without another sound.

What Tony would give to be able to sleep like them right now. He usually could. Having Jarvis and Vision so close to him always made him feel content and he’d get knocked out the moment he closed his eyes, but after all the excitement that occurred and the conversation he had with Steve, well, it was safe to say he wasn’t sleeping for a while.

The offer to join the Avengers pack and to possibly have Steve Rogers, the _Captain_ , leader of said pack, court him and have as a mate kept repeating in his head. He’d have to wake up any minute now. Stuff like this never happened to him.

Then again, maybe he was finally due for a stroke of luck.

No, he shouldn’t think that way. Thinking like that was dangerous. It built up faith that would only be destroyed in the end, crumbling down in a matter of seconds after taking days to create. After years of it happening Tony had learned to never get his hopes up, and he wasn’t about to let it happen now.

“Are you going to?” Bruce interrupted his thoughts.

“Going to what?” There was no point in asking. Tony knew exactly what Bruce meant by his question, but he wasn’t ready to answer.

“Acting oblivious isn’t becoming of you, Tony.”

Tony couldn’t help the smirk that appeared. It disappeared when he sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Never thought a famous war pack would invite you to join?”

“Never thought a pack would invite me at all.”

A long moment of silence. “You can’t mean that.”

“But I do. Look, I can go into detail about my life story but we’d end up taking the whole night and the next day by the time I get to the point where I explain I’m not a great omega.”

“Maybe.” Tony had his back to Bruce and so couldn’t see him, but from the sound of shuffling he figured the other omega had changed position. “But I’ll only need a few minutes, half an hour tops, to explain what a great omega you truly are and how blind you must be to not see it.”

Tony closed his eyes and buried his face inside the coat. He couldn’t handle anymore emotions for the day. He needed a long nap, then a proper sleep and then a nap again.

“Is there a reason why you don’t want to join?” Bruce asked instead. “Can’t be because they don’t like you. From what I saw they were rather fond. They’re not exactly what I thought a war pack would be.”

No, they weren’t. The Avengers pack weren’t like anything they both thought they would be, but was that reason enough to say yes and try it out?

“You ever imagined yourself joining a war pack?” Tony countered.

“Not really, no. To be honest, if someone asked me that back when I was still with my old pack I would’ve thought them delusional for even thinking it. Me with a war pack? I can barely handle a sword.”

“What about now?”

A pause. “Yeah, I could. With the other guy it seems almost fitting that I belong with a war pack. At least this way if I ever lose control in the middle of civilians I’ll have a war pack nearby to stop me. If the famous Avengers can’t put him down, then who could?”

Tony felt his stomach twist at that. “Don’t say that. Don’t talk about the big guy as if he’s some rabid mindless animal that needs to be put down. He’s you, Bruce. Anything that happens to him happens to you.”

“Not so great hearing someone else put themselves down now, is it?”

“Bruce, please...”

“Right, sorry, not the time, but it got my point across, didn’t it? According to you the other guy isn’t a monster and according to me you’re a great person and any pack would be lucky to have you.”

“You’re such a softy. Were you always like this?”

“I thought it was obvious. I’m always a sucker for hugs. Didn’t you say the other guy was a cuddler? Where do you think he got it from?”

Tony pulled the coat away from his face and played with the sleeves, bringing one close to smell. “Are you going to join?” he repeated the earlier question.

“I’ll join if you do,” Bruce answered simply, as if it was the only natural response.

“Why would the Avengers want us?” Tony couldn’t help but say. “They’re just playing around. We’re nothing but amusement to them. A big joke.”

“Tony, does Steve really look like the type of person to do that?” No, he didn’t, but that’s what great acting was for. “I just met him today, but from what I saw in those couple of hours watching him stick close to you I know that playing a big joke is the last thing on his mind. The guy adores you, Tony. His eyes showed nothing but affection for you. In fact I wanted to ask if you both have met before because that look doesn’t happen upon first meetings.”

Met before? Tony would have remembered running into that alpha. He had that bigger than life image about him that couldn’t be forgotten.

“And tell me,” Bruce continued, “does Natasha really look like she’d play along? Or any of the others for that matter. Sam? Thor? Jan?”

“No,” Tony admitted. “No they don’t.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“Stuff like this doesn’t happen to me, Bruce.” It was a little statement, a little snippet, but it revealed enough.

“Doesn’t happen to me either,” another pause, “but maybe it’s about time it does. I’m willing to give it a try, but I won’t do it without you.”

“And if I’m right?” Tony failed to notice the small fear in his voice.

“Then we’ll both fall together.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No, I don’t,” Bruce agreed, “but I want to. What do you say?”

Tony didn’t want to experience the cruelty that came if this whole ordeal was a lie, the emotional pain and exhaustion, but maybe, with Bruce by his side, it won’t be as bad. At least he won’t come out of this alone.

“Guess we’re becoming Avengers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this made your day feel better! Tell me what you think and don't forget to smile!


	9. A Late Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finals are over and graduation is right around the corner. Oh, God, I can't do this. Imma die.  
> In the meantime, more fluff! 
> 
> Thank you, RerumTechnologies for being my beta in this chapter. 
> 
> Yay, I got a beta, guys!

Tony stirred to something moving and bumping into his side. Not wanting to open his eyes he batted a hand at it, wincing when it turned out he used his injured one and snapping his head up in a small fright when Vision let out a surprised sound. The shack was briefly illuminated by Vision’s blue eye lights and yellow rune as he let out a huff. The lights disappeared when Vision snuggled up against his hip and promptly fell asleep again. The urge to gently smack the machine again just to spite him flared up Tony’s arm but he knew not to make an enemy out of a contraption that technically didn’t require sleep.

Instead Tony just huffed back and rested his head again, sighing and closing his eyes. He must have fallen asleep again because the next time he opened his eyes he felt groggy and grumpy and had this nagging sensation that he was forgetting something. His heart almost leaped out of his throat when he remembered the Avengers and Steve and the invitation. He sat straight up and looked around in a panic, ready to vault to his feet, but all he found for his mini heart attack was a still dark shack with a sleeping Bruce curled up next to him and Vision resting next to his hip. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Jarvis suddenly hopped onto his stomach, all puffed up with the yellow coloring showing under his wings and at the base of his tail feathers. The long white plumage on his head was standing up in anticipation.

“Sir?” Jarvis said in a low volume, careful not to wake up Bruce or Vision.

“W-what time?” Tony managed after getting his bearings back.

The feathers started to slowly flatten out. “Early. The sun has not risen yet.”

“Oh,” he took a deep breath and his heart returned to a regular tempo. He hadn’t overslept. He hadn’t missed the Avengers, not yet.

The cockatoo clawed his way up his chest and to his shoulder to yank at his hair affectionately. “Rest, Sir. There is still time yet before the early light catches us.”

Resting, right, now that the adrenaline was slowly leaving his body he noticed how heavy his eyes felt. Resting sounded perfect. He leaned his face towards the cockatoo in order to rub his cheek against the soft plumage before laying back down. Jarvis carefully adjusted around his movement and ended up nesting on his chest.

Some minutes passed and even though Tony felt exhausted he found sleep eluded him, his mind returning back to the invitation and the thought of joining the Avengers making him feel both excited, nervous and terrified.

The Avengers. He couldn’t believe they were actually thinking of joining the _Avengers_. Surely it had to be a dream. He had to have thought the whole thing up.

“Jarvis?” he whispered, facing the roof of the shack and unable to see if the umbrella cockatoo was still awake or not.

“Sir?”

“Did we, uh, meet the Avengers?”

“Yes, Sir, we did. You made a startling appearance after chasing prey that led us to them as they passed by and was introduced to one Steve Rogers who invited you to join the pack. It was not a dream.”

“Oh, good.”

He felt the weight on his chest shift and it could only mean that Jarvis was moving his head. He didn’t have to see Jarvis to know the cockatoo was staring right at him. “You wish to ask something else, Sir? What is on your mind?”

It seemed the cockatoo knew him too well. “Bruce and I went on and on about joining the pack that we never even asked you or Vision about it. What’s your opinion about going with the Avengers?”

“Seeing as I am a mere bird I hold no input in the decision. My opinion doesn’t matter. Whatever you decide I will follow.”

Tony’s heart chipped away a bit. What had he done to deserve Jarvis? “It matters to me.”

The cockatoo took a pause. “I find what we saw of the Avengers… a refreshing new start. Perhaps worth taking a chance on. They appeared genuinely concerned when Vision was distressed and don’t seem to hesitate with Doctor Banner.”

“What do you think of… think of Steve?”

“Captain Rogers looks at you in a manner Alpha Hammer never once had.”

“Yeah? How’s that?” Tony released a soft, bitter chuckle. What look had Steve possibly given him to have Jarvis take notice?

“He sees your true worth, Sir. Something that pathetic alpha failed to acknowledge.”

The air left his body as if it had been knocked out of him and Tony choked up a bit. Before he could respond to the comment about Steve, because Tony wasn’t worth anything to be able to see, Jarvis took the last few steps needed for him to move up Tony’s chest and curled up near his neck and under his chin. “If I may be so bold, Sir, do not comment on how you have no worth. While you are very much a genius you are also very foolish and I do not understand why you are deliberately blind to what we all see.”

He felt a little overwhelmed. Jarvis had never once talked to him like that before. The cockatoo must have been holding that in for a long time now based on the intensity he managed to include in his voice while still whispering. Tony refused to admit to the very unattractive sob he released or that he wiped away tears that were not there.

“You know, in all our years together I don’t think I’ve ever heard you snap at me like that,” he said as much to the feathery ball of emotions.

“You did ask for my opinion.”

“Yeah, guess I did.”

“If I may, Sir.”

“Hasn’t stopped you so far.”

Jarvis ignored him. “I still have my concerns regarding Captain Rogers, but for the most part I approve of him, should you wish to continue this courtship. However, I must inform that, if Captain Rogers behaves in an unsavory manner, I will not hesitate to act. I will go for the eyes.”

Against his will Tony let out a watery chuckle. “I love you, too, you feathery little menace.”

He felt the feathers puff up against his skin, not from any tension but from the affection in the words. “Always, Sir.”

The warm feeling of having a cockatoo wrap around the front of his neck soothed Tony to sleep. The next time he woke up it was to someone shaking his shoulder softly. When he refused to stir the shaking increased to the point that his entire top half was being rolled over.

“Tony get up.”

Tony released a whined and tried covering his face to hide from what could only be Bruce.

“It’s already morning, if we don’t hurry up we might end up missing them.”

Missing who? If it meant getting a few more minutes of sleep Tony would gladly miss them.

He snorted and reared his head back when something pecked his cheek.

“Sir, Captain Rogers will believe your answer to his invitation is no if you continue to sleep.”

Tony cracked one eye open to Jarvis standing inches away from his face and bobbing his head up and down. “Who?” he slurred.

Instead of Jarvis answering it was Vision who decided to make an attempt and released a very loud and high pitched sound right next to his ear. Tony shot up to his knees, clutched his chest and gave Vision a heated glare. The little machine didn’t look apologetic at all.

“You’re finally awake, great,” Bruce started packing away his make-shift bed. “Any longer and I would’ve dragged you across to where the Avengers are staying.”

Tony directed his glare to the omega.

Bruce just waved it away. “Don’t look at me like that, especially when your hair is all tousled. Ruins the effect when you have bed head.”

Jarvis whistled. “If you wish to impress Captain Rogers, I suggest you groom yourself, Sir.”

Tony groaned and rubbed his face with the sleeve of the coat he was wearing. When his nose was assaulted by a strong scent of alpha his brain decided to start properly working and the scent changed from random alpha to Steve Rogers and the words both Bruce and Jarvis had said finally sank in.

Tony snapped up straight, his back cracking from having slept on the hard ground in his two leg shape but he ignored it. “What time?”

“The sun is up, most of the shifters here are wide awake and I'm pretty sure we don't have time to get breakfast if we want to catch up to the Avengers,” Bruce answered, finishing packing the last of his blankets in his bag.

With newfound panic to motivate him Tony quickly started tucking his own blankets and coat away. The task going slow because of his still sore wrist and even slower when a well meaning Jarvis and Vision tried helping him. The cockatoo’s constant yanking on the edges hardly did anything but the little machine, with his nonexistent hands, rolled all over trying to push the fabric but instead nailed them in place with his weight. He was apparently going too slow because without another word Bruce began folding the blankets that Tony wasn’t holding and didn’t have Jarvis biting and Vision rolling over it.

Fixing up his bag, combing his hair and looking longingly and with concern at his decreasing tooth powder and half-full canteen he was ready to start the day and make the walk towards the Avengers, even with his back slightly straining and stomach rumbling for food.

“You know,” Bruce said while standing next to the shack’s door. “We only got to use this shack for two nights. We barely got here and already we have an invitation to join a pack. What are the odds?”

Tony eyed the inside of the building, taking in the details of the rotting wood and dead grass sprouting through the cracked floor and the light leaking in through the holes of the walls. “Almost feels like it’s meant to be.”

“You ready?”

No, he wasn’t. He really wasn’t, but he wanted to do this, and with Jarvis, Vision and Bruce at his side he knew he could do this. “Never and always,” Tony breathed, “Never and always.”

The first step out of the shack was surprisingly heavy to do, as if his legs were suddenly tied to boulders. Perhaps he couldn’t do this, maybe he wasn’t meant to join another pack.

He flinched when he felt Bruce’s hand gently grasp his arm. The omega was giving him an understanding smile, waiting patiently. Jarvis landed on his shoulder and yanked at his hair and Vision bumped against his foot encouragingly.

Tony gave them grateful smiles, straightened up and took the second step out of the shack. For a few moments he felt unstoppable, nothing was going to bring him down. He walked down and through the shacks as if he owned them, never thinking of slowing down, but once he started to notice the stares they were receiving from the other betas and omegas that were up and awake the feeling quickly left. It was one thing to be stared at with curiosity, which a few of the shifters were doing, it was another to be stared at with malice, and boy were they doing a great job on that front.

To be honest not all of them were glaring. Most of them had green faces of envy while others tried their best to show they were indifferent by very obviously turning their heads to ignore them. The ones that were staring with spite were very few, but their angered eyes made it feel as if there were twice as many.

The confidence Tony had moments ago disappeared and if it wasn’t for Bruce holding his arm again Tony would’ve turned back to the safety of their shack.

“Keep going and ignore them. We just need to reach the trees and we’ll never see any of them again,” Bruce whispered, and even though Bruce was doing his best to help Tony through this Tony still felt the tension radiating from the other omega’s body. Bruce didn’t like the stares anymore than Tony did.

“Easier said than done,” Tony whispered back then stopped in his tracks when one of the shifters, among the few that were glaring, dared to stand in their way.

The beta stood with his arms crossed, trying to make himself look bigger. He appeared familiar and Tony scrambled his head trying to remember why that was. When the beta spoke Tony realized who it was.

“Are you two going somewhere?” Prior said and began releasing a rumble from his chest. “You just got here.”

“We’re just taking a walk,” Tony managed. The rumbling the beta was making caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand. “Something wrong with that?”

“That depends,” Prior released a growl, “are you both leaving for other shacks, or are you leaving because you got invited to join a pack?”

With a hand and leg Tony pushed Bruce and Vision to stand behind him. “What does it matter?”

“What does it matter?” The beta moved forward. “What does it _matter_ ? Do you know how long I’ve been living in these shacks? How long we’ve all been living in these shacks? I’ve watched countless packs pass us by without a single one offering to recruit me, and when the _Avengers_ decide to visit instead of them going for any of us that could actually be of _use_ they go for you both instead! Two old omegas that arrived barely two days ago.”

The growl the beta released was a downright threat now. This was reaching dangerous levels, going from a simple confrontation to an actual fight. “Look, we don’t want any trouble,” Tony tried, earning himself snapping teeth for his effort. “We just want to get to the forest and start our travels.”

Tony thanked the gods that alphas were the only ones who could go into a rage at that moment because otherwise this chat would’ve turned bloody within seconds, and he didn’t know if they’d survive these betas all going bloodthirsty at once.

That still didn't stop Prior from going into a bit of a mini rage, all anger and frustration and the need for a fight without the loss of control. Tony didn't know if that last part made it better or worse.

“You think you can just come here and take the spot for a pack that we deserve?” Prior looked as if he was about to strike but before he could make his move Vision came barreling down and rolled over his foot.

The beta hissed in pain, “You little -” and kicked Vision with his other foot, causing the little machine to whine in pain.

Something inside Tony flared up and the urge to punch the beta became strong, but he couldn't act out on the emotion because it seemed Bruce had reached his breaking point and released a threatening snarl as he marched up to the beta’s face, growling. The intensity of the snarl was unlike anything an omega was capable of producing, or even a beta, and all the shifters in the area realized this as they grew pale and began stepping down.

But none of them realized their mistake quite like Prior had. The color was completely gone from his face with no traces of the mini rage ever being present. Fear was written all over his body and had they been in their shifted forms Tony was absolutely sure that Prior would've had his tail between his legs and ears down as he bared his neck to Bruce.

The beta took steps back but Bruce followed attentively, one after the other, and in a voice that sounded nothing like Bruce’s usual calm and timid tone said, “You will leave us alone.”

Tony almost felt bad when the beta released a terrified whine and dropped to the ground, but then Bruce was moving and ordering him to follow as he continued to snarl at any beta or omega in their way and Tony wasn't given any time to pity them.

By this point it was no secret that Bruce was different and possibly a dangerous omega in the eyes of the surrounding shifters, and Tony was glad they were leaving these shacks. The backlash they would get if for some reason they decided to stay now would be horrendous.

When they were within the trees Tony scrambled to stand in front of the enraged omega and calm him down. “Bruce, are you with me? Come on, deep breaths.”

Bruce snarled at him, but it didn't have the threatening vibe to it, more of a show of annoyance and bordering on affectionate.

“Love you, too, Brucie, but I need you to calm down. I don't think introducing the Hulk to the Avengers on the first day is a great idea.”

The omega huffed and shook his head, an evident growl still in his voice. “Right, right, sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for. You saved our skins.”

Bruce scrubbed his face, willing to get rid of the tension. “I terrified them all. God, if I had completely let go and released the other guy.”

“He would've given them heart attacks and that's it,” Tony assured him.

“He would've done more than that! I could've seriously hurt them.”

“But you didn't, and that's what counts.”

“Maybe I can't do this after all.”

“What?” Tony felt his voice go quiet. “Don't - you can't give up on me now, Brucie. Not when we're this close.”

“What if I do shift and the Avengers can't stop me? What if one day I rampage around and end up hurting them and innocent shifters because the other guy can't tell the difference from enemy and friend? What if I hurt you!”

“Come on, Bruce, you really believe that last one? I met the big guy and the last thing he looked like he wanted to do was hurt me.”

“ _Then_. What if something happens and he strikes without thinking?”

“Then I'll try everything I can to subdue him, or get the Avengers to help me. I'm not letting go without a fight, Brucie, and I'm not going if you're not going.”

Tony could see Bruce visibly waver at that. The omega was terrified about his shift, for very obvious reasons, and believed a life of solitude was what he was destined for. Tony wasn't going to let him. They were in this together, or not at all.

“Just promise me the moment I look like I'm shifting you'll hide,” Bruce said in a small voice.

“Can't make that promise. I'll be lying if I did.”

Bruce sighed in defeat, accepting the response. Jarvis switched from Tony's shoulder to Bruce’s and nipped his ear while Vision gently bumped against his leg. Wordlessly they agreed to wait until Bruce returned to a reasonable state before heading to where the Avengers were resting. It wouldn’t do to have the omega twitchy and jumping at every possible trigger with them. Tony offered his coat, hoping the familiar scent of a friend helped sooth away the anxiety. He was still wearing Steve’s coat so it wasn’t as if he needed it.

Bruce offered him a grateful smile, his eyes shining in familiarity. Three or so minutes later and he appeared ready to continue and they walked down through the trees after the same route they had taken the previous day. The closer they got to the open spot next to the river the more the fluttering in Tony’s chest increased. His palms were sweaty and hands were shaking and his hunger was momentarily forgotten, pushed in favor of the nervous feeling in his stomach.

The clearing was coming within sight but there were no outlines of the war pack. The Avengers must have been hiding behind the trees still in the way, but as they got closer Tony’s fluttering chest started growing heavy and his heart sank when they came upon the entire clearing. There wasn't a single soul. They had missed the Avengers.

It was a sign. After the whole mental struggle of trying to figure out whether to join or not destiny decided it wanted a say in it and made it so they couldn’t join, by arriving late. Who was he kidding. He wasn’t meant to start a new life with the Avengers pack and he definitely wasn’t meant to be courted by Steve and have him, heaven forbid, as a mate.

He guessed he shouldn’t be surprised. When had anything regarding his own life gone right? But he figured since he was with Bruce that, maybe, destiny would take pity on him and give them both a chance to start new and have a decent happy ending.

Eyes going down and with a sigh Tony accepted it. Why fight against destiny?

“We can catch up to them,” Bruce said, going to the center of the clearing. “Their scents are still here. Faint because of the water but I can make them out.”

“I can search from the skies if need be,” Jarvis offered, spreading his wings and ready to take off.

 _Ever the positive ones when things looked bleak_ Tony thought. “But they think we said no. Will they still accept us after that?”

Bruce stood over a batch of grass that was flatten, probably a spot one of the Avengers had been sleeping on. “I didn’t hear anything about the invitation expiring after one answer, and if that’s the case we’ll just explain it to them. I’m sure Steve will make an exception if it means having you join.”

Tony fought against the blush coloring his cheeks. It was a lost cause.

He walked up to join Bruce, trying to catch any of the Avengers’ scents but all he got was the smell of grass and running water with a hint of unfamiliar musk. “Will we even catch up to them? They’re probably halfway through the forest by now. We’ll end up losing them.”

“Then it is a good thing I know exactly where they are heading,” said a voice that was created almost of pure hissing.

Tony, Bruce, Jarvis and even Vision jumped an inch in the air and backed away from the figure slithering down from a nearby tree branch. A giant python that was the pure color of black, so black that it had blue streaks painting the scales at certain angles. It dangled its head down while the rest of its body circled around the thick branch.

“B-Bruce, Brucie, there’s a snake. There’s a giant snake,” Tony pawed at Bruce blindly as he backed away. His heart stopped for a second when he felt Jarvis curl up and hide behind his neck.

The python flicked its tongue out. “How rude. I remained here for your benefit and these are the gracious thanks I receive. I’ll have to have a talk with our fair captain.”

Tony blinked at the last part. The snake knew of Steve? “Who are -?”

“We weren’t properly acquainted. I am Loki, from -” the python, _Loki_ , paused, “it matters not. What does matter is your phenomenal arrival. Nearly an hour late. How marvelous. Clearly you wish to become a member of the pit.”

“We didn’t know what time to arrive,” Tony defended, astonished from the fact that Loki, the Avenger that furiously ignored his pack’s antics, was a Serpent Shifter. _Serpent_. He’d heard of them before but never actually seen one. It was eye opening. “Steve - I mean, the Captain, didn’t tell us when you guys would be leaving.”

“Yes, _Steve_ , clearly,” Tony was sure Loki had just given the snake equivalent of a grin, “and even as you arrive late you wish to continue the pursuit. How dutiful of you.”

“Why were you waiting?” Bruce countered, his body slowly bleeding out the tension from Loki’s appearance.

Loki considered him, tilting his head. “I found myself curious of your response. You should have witnessed our dear Captain’s devastation when he believed your absence meant no. Even the Widow’s spirit seemed down. It was a sight to see, but was their sorrow true or was it from unlucky misfortune? Lo and behold, misfortune seems to have a play in it. How lucky for them.”

Realization dawned. “You were making sure,” Bruce said.

Another flick of his tongue. “If you wish to see it that way. I care not. Now come. While I find joy in seeing others’ misery, when it comes to Rogers no one is left unscathed. I for one do not wish to travel for two days with his insufferable moping.” Loki released the branch and slid off to the ground, landing with a heavy thud and slithering away as if it was nothing.

Tony and Bruce scrambled to keep up. For a snake Loki was surprisingly fast and agile and didn’t let the grass or dirt slow him down. And while Tony had a glimpse of hope with how this was going to turn out something Loki had said got him curious. “You said your… pit left an hour ago?”

Loki released a hiss before answering. “They did.”

“Did they leave without you?” Tony hadn’t meant to make it sound as if the pack had abandoned Loki, but that was essentially what they did… right?

Loki didn’t appear offended at all. “One thing you shall learn overtime, Anthony, is that I am never left behind. A certain fool won’t have it without a fight, and I find it most beneficial.”

“Uh, fool?”

“You will see soon enough. We will reach the pit in a matter of minutes. If you wish to make an impression I suggest preparing now.”

Tony didn’t really know what else to do to make an impression besides fixing Steve’s coat around his body and pressing away the wrinkles. As for his hair Jarvis was already working on that, grabbing strands with his beak and claws and adjusting any that strayed away and poked out.

As they continued walking Tony got the impression that what Loki thought was a matter of minutes was the complete opposite of what he meant. They had to have walked for more than fifteen, possibly about half an hour, and even as the grassy terrain was switched to a gravelly road they didn’t look to be getting any closer to the pack appearing. He was about to ask how much longer and if they were almost there yet when, on the curve of the road that caused it to disappear behind trees, he heard faint voices.

“We’ve been waiting here for almost an hour! Where is he?”

“Loki has his reasons to be absent. Do not rush him.”

“But an _hour_? I don’t know what he’s doing but it can’t be worth waiting here an hour for. Do you know how much ground we could’ve covered by now?” That voice could have only come from Clint. “Steve can we leave him behind? Loki knows where we live. He’ll find his way.”

“Nay, should you take a step from this road I shall resort to physical altercations,” said Thor.

“Oh? How are you going to keep me here, big guy? Steve won’t stand for violence.”

“I do not require violence to subdue you. I shall simply sit on you.”

“You wouldn’t _dare_.”

“Witness me, _Clinton_.”

Tony and Bruce exchanged looks, remembering these shifters were the very same Avengers, famous war pack of the land. How was that possible?

“Leave the imbecile alone,” Loki’s voice attributed. When they searched for him they saw Loki’s tail following the curve of the road and slither away behind the trees “He is not worth the effort.”

“About damn time! Do you know how long we’ve been waiting? What was so important that you took so long?”

“I brought with me the answer to our Captain’s brooding and these are the thanks I receive?” A hiss. “I thought you better, Clinton. It is rude to talk about our guests in such a manner.”

Tony and Bruce shared one last look again. This was it.

“Guests?” They turned on the curve and made themselves visible to the Avengers. Clint had his mouth open with a question on the tip of his tongue but he stopped when he noticed them. “Oh.”

Loki turned his head to point at the new arrivals. “I believe you are acquainted with our guests.”

Tony waved at them timidly. The motion seemed to snap the Avengers from their surprise as each and every one of them gave their own versions of smiles and grins. And while their reactions were a good sign he focused on the one that truly had the final say. He locked eyes with Steve and took notice of how the young alpha looked resigned for the brief moment as he processed their arrival. Then, when he finally realized who he was looking at, the resigned look melted away and hope, delight and a guarded appearance took over. His eyes were asking a question and Tony had an idea what that question was.

He gave them a small smile. “Sorry we’re late. We sort of overslept.”

All at once Steve lit up and he walked right up to him, reaching out and hesitating to grasp his hand. When Tony motioned to grab his instead Steve met him halfway. “You came.”

The fond stare was almost overwhelming. “I came. Is it too late to join?”

“Never.” Steve lifted his hand to kiss the knuckles. “Never.”

“Am I ever glad to see you,” Sam said. “I thought for sure we were going to have to put up with a sulking Steve. That’s something you _don’t_ want to go through.”

A blush appeared as Steve turned around to growl a “ _Sam_ ,” at the beta. The threat fell on deaf ears as every one of the Avengers were nodding in agreement. All of them except for Natasha, who was busy giving her attention to Bruce.

“We thank you, Anthony,” Thor included with Loki now wrapped around his shoulders and chest, spiralling down to his hips. The python was nodding as well.

“You saved our lives, really. Steve has these eyes that make you want to bury yourself from the guilt. They’re dangerous eyes.” Clint created a circle with his hands and placed them over his face to mimic what was apparently Steve’s giant blue eyes.

Bucky crossed his arms. “Everytime he uses them the sky cries. Rains for days until his mood lightens up.”

“It’s nearly flooded on more than one occasion because of them,” Jan agreed.

The alpha leader of the pack made a grumbling sound, mortified. “Please ignore them. Every single one of them. I don’t know any of them.”

Tony could’ve imagined different scenarios of how the Avengers would’ve reacted to his and Bruce’s late arrival, but all of them joking and making Steve blush was nowhere near one of them. And the alpha still wanted to recruit him and Bruce to the pack! He couldn’t believe it was happening and the Avengers, God, were these guys real?

He was unable to stop the laugh that burst out of him, and if there was a tear or two he blamed them entirely on the Avengers for making him chuckle too hard.

Steve, through his blush, gazed at him tenderly. “We’re happy to have you both. Welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I hope you guys don't mind if I take a quick pause from this so I can go and work on my Winter Soldier!Tony fic. It's overdue to be updated and I got the sudden urge to write more angst. 
> 
> If you're curious, [I Started a Joke](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4545966/chapters/10347684)


	10. To Tease an Alpha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! The subscriptions! I almost couldn't believe the numbers when I saw them.  
> Now I'm a little nervous. I got a bit of performance anxiety.  
> Thank you for still reading!

Tony had an unshakable fear that, perhaps, possibly, just maybe, the Avengers regretted inviting him and Bruce into their pack.

He was probably overthinking things, but with the pack traveling in a frustratingly slow pace because Bruce refused to shift and Tony refused to leave him as the only two-legged to travel (plus his wrist was still healing) what else was he to think? The ground they could’ve covered had Tony and Bruce shifted would’ve been farther. They’d be out of the forest by now, probably, if only they were walking on four instead of two. But they weren’t and the forest seemed never ending and Tony was absolutely certain the the Avengers were frustrated, tired and wanted to leave the two omegas behind.

No, he couldn’t think like that. The Avengers wanted them. That was why they invited them, why Steve invited him, because they wanted to have him and Bruce in their pack. After all, Loki stayed behind for a reason, right? He wouldn’t have stayed behind and caused the Avengers to hold off their travels for an hour. And Steve looked so happy when Tony and Bruce appeared. That had to count for something.

Still, the nagging feeling that perhaps, just perhaps, their new pack mates might have been a tiny bit annoyed by them slowing down their travels wouldn’t leave him, and the urge to do what little he could to please them began rearing its ugly head. It was Hammer all over again. The desire to do everything he could to make him, or the pack, happy and failing miserably because he either didn’t do enough or he didn’t know what to do and left them all unsatisfied.

He almost felt like crying from the frustration. Soon the Avengers would grow tired of him and his internally conflicting nature and Steve would boot him out of the pack because he could neither satisfy nor benefit them, or him. And just like before he’d end up packless again and living in the shacks alone with Jarvis and Vision because, while they would happily kick him out, they’d keep Bruce thanks to Natasha’s insistence. Maybe to save the cockatoo and little machine from suffering for their owner’s incompetence Tony should ask Bruce if he would take them in. They already liked the other omega, and unlike Tony, Bruce would still have a pack.

But the very idea of losing Jarvis and Vision… Tony didn’t think he’d be able to survive that.  No, Tony was too selfish to push them away, and because they themselves weren’t going to leave him willingly they were going to put up and follow Tony until the end. It was probably wrong of Tony to do, but he couldn’t find it in his heart to let them go.

“Tony?”

Tony blinked back into reality and faced Bruce. “Hm?”

“Something on your mind?”

Oh there was plenty on his mind. “Just overthinking. My mind trying to find faults.”

He got the feeling Bruce knew what he meant. Perhaps experiencing the same thoughts and self-doubts? Or perhaps he spent enough time with Tony and figured out how his mind worked? Either way it seemed Bruce wasn’t having any of it. “All right, but remember we’re surrounded. Blocked in on every corner,” and it was true. Both Tony and Bruce were smack in the center of the lineup. Steve was, naturally, leading the pack up front with Bucky and Natasha keeping close. Thor, Clint and Sam made the back. Loki (now back in his two legged shape) and Jan were right behind the two omegas and Hank was right in front. “Don’t think whatever it is you’re thinking about. There’s no escape.”

And while Bruce made his statement sound like a joke to the rest, Tony knew it was his way of saying ‘don’t worry’ without the others knowing.

“What’s this?” Jan said, “you two aren’t planning to escape our clutches, are you?” she sounded offended, but her smile said otherwise.

Tony tried sounding equally offended and added a gasp. “I would never. The very thought.”

“Hank, Dear, they’re trying to run away.”

Hank hummed, not bothering to turn around but playing along. “Can’t have that now, can we?”

“I’ll say. Quick, you cover the north trees and I’ll cover the south. Loki can take the sides. We’re going to make sure they don't leave.”

Hank continued his pace. “I’ll get there eventually.”

“I found I’ve forgotten how to walk,” Loki said dryly.

“You both are no help,” Jan huffed.

Clint took long strides forward to reach them. “What’s this about fresh meat trying to escape?”

“They’re trying to make a run for it and these two grumps don’t want to help me.”

The two grumps mentioned shrugged.

“Trying to run? That just won’t do. I’ll go for the ankles. You go for the arms. We’re tying them down right here right now,” Clint grinned and rubbed his hands together.

Tony and Bruce exchanged looks, appearing a little startled. They wouldn’t do that, would they?

Jan thought their plan over. “But who’s carrying them? I’m not doing it.”

Clint crossed his arms. Each step taken swaying his shoulders. “I’m not doing it, either.”

“Let’s just tie them to Steve and Nat. I’m sure they’ll be happy to carry them.”

At that, still looking at each other, both Tony and Bruce noticed their cheeks gain a little color. When Jarvis and Vision released suggestive whistles they turned away and stared at the trees with interest. The cockatoo and machine snickered.

Because the conversation they were having was out in the open Steve and Natasha heard every word and they turned to give the pair of betas disapproving gazes.

“No one is tying anyone up,” Steve said in a tone that suggested that was the end of that subject.

Bucky wasn’t having any of it. “Not yet, anyway.”

Steve turned an intriguing shade of red as Natasha shoved an elbow at the brunet alpha. The rest of the pack, minus Tony and Bruce and Loki, snorted. Some of the snorts soon turned to outright laughter when Clint muttered, “We’ll never hear the end of it once it happens.” Even Loki couldn’t hold in the smirk.

Jarvis nipped Tony’s ear affectionately. “I approve of them, Sir.”

Red-faced, Tony glared at the cockatoo. “You would approve when my sanity is at stake.”

“With all due respect,” Jarvis pecked him softly on the cheek, “your sanity is not at risk, Sir. Your humility, however, may not be left unscathed.”

“Humility you say?” Clint said and inched closer to them. He took a brief pause to think it over before turning back to Sam. “Humility?”

Sam shook his head, giving the blonde beta a long look. “Modesty.”

“Oh! Modesty. Yeah, there’s no modesty here. We lost all our modesty ages ago,” the beta said as a matter of fact with a grin to go with it.

“Don’t listen to him,” Sam countered. “Some of us still have modesty. Sort of. Whatever this idiot tells you don’t believe every single word, especially when he’s teaming up with this one.” He pointed at Jan, who waved innocently to them. “We’re not as scary as they make us sound to be. And we don’t do whatever they say we do. Not until we get permission first, at least.” The beta winked, making everyone laugh again except for Steve and Natasha.

The alpha leader released a low growl, making Tony jump a little until he realized the growl wasn’t aimed at him or Bruce and the growl wasn’t meant to be as threatening as it sounded. No, Steve was growling at Sam and the growl came out more from an annoyance than hostility.

Sam was grinning a smug kind of grin as he lifted his hands in peace, wanting none of whatever followed after growling. “Meant nothing by it, Cap. I already got my hands full with him,” he pointed to Clint, who smiled and gave an approving nod.

They were teasing him, Tony slowly registered. They were teasing Steve and Natasha, but at the moment mostly Steve. And they were using Tony in order to do so. That… hadn’t actually happened in so long. It was good hearted banter aimed at both Steve and Tony.

How long had it been since Tony was subjected to playful banter within a pack? With Hammer’s it was always business and then mocking. The last time he could remember ever being part of a pack jest was with… with Rhodey and Pepper.

Rhodey and Pepper… Tony wondered what the two were currently doing, and what they would say about Tony joining the Avengers pack, and their opinion of the pack in general.

He also wondered if they were aware about him leaving Hammer and Obie. He should’ve searched for them the moment he was free of his old pack’s clutches, but where to start? Rhodey was probably across the sea, the military lovin alpha. And Pepper? Tony lost track of her pack years ago. They could be anywhere.

He wondered if Happy was still a beta guard for the pack.

Perhaps one day he’d see once they meet up again, wherever they were.

The Avengers could help, maybe, in finding them, once he got their good graces to deserve asking them for aid.

In the meantime Tony was caught by surprise to see Steve… pouting. That couldn’t be. Tony blinked twice but no, that was an actual pout the leader of the Avengers was sprouting.

He wasn’t the only one to notice. “Easy,” Sam said, “you know I wouldn’t do that to you, Cap. None of us would, but you gotta give us leeway here. It’s finally happening after all this time? We’re going to tease you, and you’re going to deal with it.”

If anything the pout seemed to grow stronger with the added tint of pink on his cheeks. Sam then turned to Tony. “We’re teasing you, too. We don’t mean anything by it -”

“Until we do,” Clint cut in, getting shoved away by Sam.

“- and if we insult you in any way, let us know. The last thing we want is Steve over there knocking us to the ground.”

Tony blinked. “Why would he knock you to the ground?” What reason was there for Steve to fight if they managed to insult him?

Sam contemplated the question, looking to the alpha leader for approval. When Steve gave a small nod he said, “Steve has a dislike for people picking on others. He can't stand it. We're thinking that gets tenfold when it's someone he has an eye for.”

“Oh,” that made sense. Steve standing up to those who dare pick on others for their own self image. A true hero. “Well, those that get his eye are extremely lucky then, having the Captain defend their honor,” he tried joking.

As if somehow he set off an explosive of some sort everyone slowed down an amount to a near stop. It was almost sad how upset they appeared to be and Tony not knowing why. Was he somehow rude to them without meaning to?

“Did I - did I say something wrong?” Tony shifted his gaze to all of them, shuffling a little awkwardly. He was grateful when he felt Jarvis and Bruce give him a peck on the cheek and a pat on the shoulder for support.

“No, no,” Jan reassured.  “We just…” she looked thoughtful. “We could use a little help getting under Steve’s skin. We can only do so much, but with you catching his eye and playing along,” she winked at him. Steve released a rumble, and from the way he quickly stopped himself and appeared sheepish the rumble could’ve only been involuntary. It made her grin. “This is going to be fun.”

“I don't -” Tony started, getting cut off by Bruce poking at his shoulder.

The other omega leaned in to whisper to him. “They're using you to make the Captain jealous and protective. He's defending _your_ honor. You're the one he has an eye for, as he's mentioned a couple of times already.”

Tony tried pushing down the embarrassment that flooded his chest and gave his cheeks a pink coloring. “Right,” he mumbled to Bruce. He was starting to learn, oh so slowly, that, Steve and the Avengers weren't  anything like Hammer or his pack. When they teased they were including him on the teasing, not outright mocking him. And he had to somehow engrave in his head that Steve was really interested in him. It was a hard thing to do since he couldn’t help the doubt that bubbled  up from the thought of alpha in his prime and with a body to match it and leading a famous pack Steve Rogers wanting… him.

“Stop that,” Bruce said. “Whatever you're thinking stop that.”

“What you _should_ be thinking about is,” Sam gestured to Jarvis and Vision, “telling us about your two friends here. I'll take a guess and say Jarvis here isn't like any regular cockatoos and we don't even know where to start with Vision. No offense to you, little guy. We don't know how to talk about you.”

In response Vision made a high pitched whine that was followed by whistles and a deep trill. Looking unsure Sam waited for Tony to translate.

“He says you're fine and he understands. He doesn't know how to talk about you either.”

Sam nodded and shrugged. “Fair enough.”

They continued forward and regained their tempo again as they walked

“Can you tell us about when you got them?” Jan said as she clapped her hands together. “They're so cute.”

Jarvis preened at the compliment and puffed out his chest while Vision made noises that could only be interpreted as bashfulness. The little machine even turned his body to try and hide his head for the effect. Tony chuckled at them both before he jerked his shoulder and forced the cockatoo to shoot out his wings in order to balance himself. For Vision, who was in his bag, he grabbed the edges and rattled it a bit to make the machine bounce and cry out. When they regained their composer Tony received twin glares.

He shrieked when Jarvis nipped his ear and pecked just above his cheek bone and Vision began trying to swing back and forth over his hip in retaliation. “Hey, easy down there. We don’t all have skin of steel.”

Vision huffed but left it at that. Jarvis pecked him one more time, deciding it enough, before settling down again and nesting.

“Traitors, the lot of you.”

“Only for you, Sir.”

“Don't I feel special,” Tony deadpanned, eyes narrowing.

“I would,” Clint said. “I want a Jarvis and a Vision. Sam get me two of ‘em. I want ‘em.”

“You can barely take care of yourself. How do you expect to take care of a Jarvis and Vision?”

“I'll play with them and you remember to feed them and give them baths?” Clint grinned.

Sam gave him a dry look. “No.”

“You never let me have my way.”

“Hate to break it to you,” Tony interrupted, amused by the pair and feeling lighthearted, “these two are one of a kind,” _and they are mine_ , he restrained to say.

“Maybe we can share shoulders,” Clint suggested with a waggle of his eyebrows and a shake of his shoulder in an effort to tempt the cockatoo.

Jarvis studied the shoulder as if considering but quickly turned away with a lift of his beak.

Clint clutched his chest. “Rejected. Woe is me. You want me, right, little guy?” he asked Vision.

In response Vision released a long note before scoffing and turning his head.

The beta went limp and leaned against Sam as if injured. “I've been shot twice. Sam, go on without me.”

Sam shook him off. “Gladly.”

“I feel so loved. See what I put up with?” Clint asked Tony. “You'll love me, right?”

Before Tony could come up with a witty response Steve let out a growl from the front of the lineup without looking back. It was clear the alpha didn’t enjoy the idea.

“Sharing is caring, Cap,” Clint retorted.

“I don't share.”

“He doesn't share,” Bucky repeated and turned to give them a playful glare.

“He doesn't share,” Jan said with a cross of her arms.

Thor released a loud rumble. “Our leader does not fare well in sharing the affections of his proposed mate.”

Clint backed off. “I get it, sheesh. Tony is off limits.”

Tony, for the most part, watched the pack go back and forth, blushing at Thor’s choice of wordings. Feeling a little lost he turned to Bruce, who raised an eyebrow at him and said, “Don't look at me. I'm not getting on the Captain's bad side.”

Everyone who showed emotions began laughing at Tony's flabbergasted expression and only stopped when Steve growled in warning. A few of them still snickered but they quickly regained their composure and continued their travels in a more sedated state.

“In case you're thinking something else, they were teasing you playfully,” Bruce explained sometime after their calm walking in a hushed tone.

Tony understood that. He was figuring out the Avengers’ characteristics slowly, but they were still sights to see, especially when the entire pack joined in. Any teasing he was a part of in the past usually consisted of maybe two or three pack mates. Rhodey and Pepper for example and even Jarvis and Vision. But here, with the Avengers, it was literally everyone, including Loki with his own sense of dry humor, that joined in the fun.

It was obvious that the Avengers were really close and were really comfortable with each other. Something Tony envied a little. He wanted that trust, wanted to be part of that circle and that family. Even if he was now part of the pack it would take weeks, or probably months to gain something remotely similar to that close-knit faith.

Maybe one day, if Tony hoped and worked for it real hard.

“I know they were,” Tony said, returning his attention to Bruce and trying to sound convincing. He didn't want to worry the omega with his self-doubt.

“Just making sure.”

They continued walking in moderate silence. Disrupted on a few occasions from curious Avengers wanting to know about Jarvis and Vision. Tony happily told short versions of the tale and explained the few questions involving Vision without revealing his involvement with the yellow rune on the roly-poly’s forehead.

It was safe to say the cockatoo and machine were their favorite subject to talk about on the first day. Along with teasing Steve, but mostly Jarvis and Vision and the pair was eating the attention up happily.

By the time the sun decided to set in to make way for the night they had made a fair amount of distance through the forest, considering they were walking on two legs. The trees were lessened around the edges of the road they marched upon and grassy plains were slowly lengthening with visible hills left and right.

Tony’s breathing was heavy, his back was straining from carrying Vision’s weight and his two legs were aching. He couldn’t tell which leg ached the most. They were both in pain and all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep, but he was also hungry and his stomach was growling up a storm. Keeping everyone awake was a real possibility if he didn’t get something to eat.

Steve slowed his pace, causing the pack to halt as well, and searched the area. “We’ll rest here for the night.” Everyone sighed simultaneously. Tony wasn’t the only one relieved to rest. “Between those trees,” Steve pointed at an open spot with surrounding trees that could be used as cover.

Together they walked to the patch, claiming spaces as their own and marking them off with their packs. Tony placed Vision down on the ground a distance away from the others. He felt his back sing from the release of the added weight. A long stretch cracked it in place and as if he shedded years off his back he had a brief moment of rejuvenation.

Bruce walked up to him and set his pack right next to where Vision was waiting. “I can’t feel my toes.”

“You and me both,” Tony twitched his toes experimentally. Walking for hours with boots on and trying to keep up with the pack was a tiresome combination. How had they even managed? “I think I threw my back.”

Bruce snorted. “You’re not that old.”

“Says you.”

Clint whistled, gaining everyone’s attention. “Time for the hunt.”

“Who’s turn is it this time?” Bucky said as he stripped his armor off.

Tony took notice of how everyone except for him and Bruce were shedding their clothing. The pack were getting ready to shift.

“I’m up,” Jan answered.

“As am I,” Thor included.

Bucky was down to a cloth and quickly took it off. “Clint you’re coming with us.”

“Come on! I hunted last time.”

“And you’re hunting again.”

Accepting his fate Clint shifted, his fur breaking through the skin and his bones changing. The dirty golden jackal Tony remembered from the previous night shook his fur and gave his tail a wag. The brown dingo that was Jan ran up to him and gave a pounce. The golden lion that could only be Thor followed soon after, knocking them both down in his excitement. They looked like they were about to start a wrestling match when a large dark brown wolf appeared and barked for them to stop.

“Get the food first and then you can fool around all you want,” the alpha wolf that Tony figured out was Bucky said, acting every bit of a second in command he was.

All three nodded and waited patiently for the order to head out. Seeing as all the Avengers had shifted, Tony took advantage of the gathering to note down their forms again. He spotted the golden dingo Hank already lying on the ground with his tongue out and next to him was the black coyote Sam sitting upright. Loki was already curling around and hanging on the nearest branch to the ground, looking as menacing as a black python does without meaning to.

Then there was Steve with his shiny golden coat and looking as tall as a wolf could, and Tony would’ve stared at him longer and admired his form more had the figure sitting just behind him not attracted his attention. Inches away from Steve, sitting upright and not moving, was a red fox with a dark shaded coat. Dark enough that mixed with the red it almost appeared as if it was blood, and while blood was usually associated with unpleasantries the color actually looked beautiful on the fox.

It took a moment for Tony to figure out the only person left that could’ve been the fox was Natasha, but when he actually pieced it together the only thing that came to mind was, _Bruce you lucky omega_.

And from the way Bruce was also staring at her he figured the other omega was having similar thoughts as well, or at least something along the lines.

Natasha’s canine form was every bit beautiful and graceful she looked to be. Tony didn’t know what it was about foxes that made them appear elegant but the shifters who had the form were always matched perfectly. At least from what few foxes Tony had seen did. He couldn’t imagine Pepper as anything else but the beautiful strawberry marble fox she was. And now that he was seeing Natasha, he couldn’t imagine her as anything else either.

“Careful,” hissed Loki right next to Tony, making him jump. “If you gaze at the Widow any longer the Captain will believe you are uninterested in him.”

“I wasn’t -”

“Of course you were not. You were just _appreciating_ the sight. You are not the first,” Loki chuckled. “Many have gazed. Few have lived to describe the experience.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Tony said with a bit of panic.

“Ignore him,” Sam trotted over to the pair. “Loki loves to blow things out of proportion. A lot of folks look, but only three have actually disappeared.”

“ _Only_ three? That makes me feel much better.”

The coyote shrugged as best as he could. “Those are good odds considering how many have looked. You don’t want to know.”

Tony wisely kept his mouth shut.

A bark from the side drew their attention to Bucky. “We’re ready, Steve.”

The wolf named hesitated for a moment. He moved his head back and forth to the gathered hunting group and to where Tony stood before finally deciding to head out, but not until after he said to Natasha, “Keep them safe.”

The red fox nodded and made her way to the center of the spot where she was closest to everyone while still keeping a reasonable distance away.

“You really have nothing to worry about,” Sam said after everyone shifted had settled down.

Tony took the opportunity to sit with his back against a tree. Bruce joined him. Vision rolled over and got comfortable in-between them. Jarvis remained on Tony's shoulder until he got comfortable on the ground. Once he did the cockatoo took off into the trees to search for his meal.

Sam waited for them to stop before he continued. “Even if Nat wanted to kill you she'd have to get through Steve first. On Top of that I don't think killing the friend of the person you're trying to court will make a good impression.”

Tony switched his gaze over to Bruce, understanding what the coyote was implying. He was more than happy to switch the attention and the teasing over to his fellow omega. Especially since Bruce had hardly received any of it.

Frankly, Tony thought it about time.

And seeing Bruce clear his throat while turning away in an attempt to hide his coloring cheeks was well worth it.

“Leave them alone, Wilson,” Natasha said, unfazed by Sam's earlier comment. “They're tired and don't need you breathing near them.”

“That hurts, Nat. I'm wounded you would say that.”

“You'll be fine. Go stand lookout to the north.”

Sam tilted his head up to stare at the night sky before heading to the direction that Tony thought was possibly north. After that conversation seized. They were tired, hungry and patiently waiting for the hunting party to come back. Even Vision wasn't up for making noise.

Everyone visibly perked up when the sounds of crunching footsteps was heard and in appeared Bucky and Clint with two deers being dragged individually by them.

Jan soon followed with one of the legs of the deer clamped in her mouth. Steve appeared afterwards with a larger deer than the previous three. But the one Thor carried in his mouth easily beat them all. Tony didn't even know deer could get that big. It easily rivaled him in size, but since he was an omega, naturally smaller, it was a concept not hard to do. Still, he was a shifter. There had to be an exception sometime.

The jackal trotted forward and wagged his tail when he released the prey. “We come bearing gifts.” He made his way over to the coyote, getting greeted with a lick to his snout that he happily returned.

One by one the hunting party placed their catch down and walked over to their respected spots. All of them minus Steve. As the leader he got to eat first, as per the canine pack instinct. Something Thor and Loki respectfully followed as they waited patiently along with the others.

Tony had expected for Steve to dig right in and eat his fill, but instead the alpha happily trotted over to him, grabbed hold of one of Tony’s sleeves (Steve’s coat that he was still wearing) and pulled him gently in encouragement to stand and head over to where the food was gathered. Tony awkwardly followed, already feeling his face heat up slightly. When the food was within reach Steve placed the arm he was pulling over the deers flank, tail wagging. Tony kneeled in order to lessen the strain on his back from bending over.

Sharing his food with a mate, Tony’s head supplied. Steve was doing it again and confirmed it this time in his shifted form. He actually saw Tony as a potential mate.

“Grab what you want,” Steve said as he pawed at the prey.

“I - I would, happily would, but I don’t have anything on me to cut. It’s in my bag.”

The alpha took a moment before deciding on a thought and taking a large bite of the carcass, loosening the skin and muscle and making his way around to the thigh. When he was finished he cheerfully presented the leg to Tony, bloody snout and all.

Awestruck, Tony grabbed the leg and avoided getting the mess on his hand, cluelessly holding it up. “T-thank you.”

Steve preened, licking his hand and still getting the mess on it. Tony found he didn’t mind.

The alpha turned to the carcass and began eating, chewing away at what he could in reasonable time. Tony, still holding the leg, turned to look at where Bruce was sitting. It was a mistake to do because the omega was smirking at him, eyebrows raised in expectation, and he wasn’t the only one. Everyone was grinning in their own way, nodding and approving. Clint went beyond that and started wagging his canine brows suggestively. Vision added to it by creating a noise that resembled a whistle.

Tony glared in reflex, cheeks pink. ‘ _Shut up_ ,’ he mouthed.

If anything their grins got wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't make you wait too long. And thanks for being patient with me!  
> Please let me know what you thought!


	11. In Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing but angst and fluff. A lot of fluff, and cuddling!

Tony woke up on his side to the smell of grass dew and Bruce and a small dose of Jarvis. Opening one eye and with a blurry view he spotted the pack scattered around the area while still being considered close by to each other. Tony and Bruce and distance away from them.

It was natural to be so, considering Tony and Bruce were new to the pack and still unfamiliar. There was also the added aspect of them being omegas, and from the way the Avengers behaved with respectable manners (when the moments called for it, otherwise Tony was getting the idea the Avengers were a very playful pack) it was naturally expected for newly added omegas to have space of their own, especially unmated omegas, and slowly get included into the pack pile.

While Tony would’ve loved nothing more than to already embrace being part of the pile, being surrounded by pack members covering every space and sharing warmth, he understood the Avengers weren’t used to him or Bruce yet and didn’t want to get crowded. He would just have to be patient and maybe one day he’ll receive the physical comfort a complete pack brought. In the meantime he was happy to receive it from another source.

Turning his head he managed to make out the outline of Bruce’s figure behind him, resting back to back. A movement near his stomach signaled Vision’s presence and when he lifted Steve’s blue coat he was still wearing he spotted Jarvis curled up next to the little machine. Vision’s blue eyes lit up the inside of the coat and aimed at Tony. He gave a quiet questioning whistle.

“Just seeing where you were,” Tony whispered, receiving a noise of acknowledgement before he place the coat back down and covered Vision. He patted the lump the little machine created with his sore hand, taking notice how it didn't hurt as much as the day before. Cautiously, he wiggled it experimentally, and felt relieved when only the soreness made itself evident, before settling his head and pushing back slightly so he could come in contact with Bruce. The warmth of the other omega’s back eased him and the presence of the pack - of _his_ pack, relaxed him enough to just lie down with his eyes close and enjoy the sound of rustling trees and early animals (a group that Jarvis was definitely not a part of, lazy bird) making noise.

Tony couldn’t remember the last time he felt safe enough to enjoy a lie down in the forest, to appreciate the fresh air and the surrounding nature and savor the few worry free moments it gave where life and responsibilities couldn’t touch him. Not even with Hammer and his pack was he able to do this, when they traveled the roads and needed to camp. He was always anxious and on edge, waiting for Hammer to order something of him. He could never unwind knowing at any given moment the alpha would demand him to… to demand his body and have it done... in front of the pack. On display like a prized cow. Used over and over.

Shame filled his gut at just the thought of it. Any sense of relaxation he felt wholly disappeared and humiliation replaced it. And even though the pack surrounding him were asleep and couldn’t see him he still covered his face with his sleeves. He couldn’t stand the idea that Bruce or Steve or any of the Avengers could somehow see his past from simply looking at him. As if somehow his face revealed all his lowest moments of life.

What would Steve, respectful and modest and a hero, think if he were to know of it? Would he run away? Turn around the moment he could and take back all the small courting gestures he had done? Refuse to take an omega that had been used, and in such a humiliating manner? Tony wouldn’t. The memory of those pasty and out of shape bastards staring at him, drinking in every detail, as if he was a slab of meat to sink their teeth into and envy because they’ll never have a taste.

Tony shivered in disgust. The feeling too much and the prickling sensation of tears building up too strong to stop. He curled up, burying his face into the sleeves and allowing the material of the coat to suck in the salty liquid. He started slowly scrubbing away at it, cleaning his face as much as he could without causing a lot of movement and catching anyone who was possibly awake’s, eye.

It was all in vein. Something pushed against his arm, startling him to pull back from his hiding spot and coming to the sight of Steve’s worried wolf face, standing over him.

The alpha whined softly, concerned, no doubt taking notice of Tony’s tear-stricken face. An entirely different kind of humiliation, the kind that happened when one was caught, took over. And to be caught by none other than Steve?

Tony furiously tried rubbing away any evidence but he knew it was a lost cause. The alpha had seen the tears and there was no way to deny it. Now what would Steve think? Watching the omega he was interested in cry for no reason? Showing weakness and burning any potential strength the alpha thought Tony to have to the ground?

Steve released another whine. “Tony?”

“It's nothing,” Tony said hoarsely, cursing when his voice cracked a little.

Thankfully Steve didn't push for answers. Instead, he gingerly leaned forward, aiming for the sleeves and pulling them away to expose Tony's face. He then began licking away the tears. His tongue going slowly over his cheek and cleaning the trails. Tony allowed it, selfishly taking the comfort and enjoying the warmth that came from having Steve so close.

When Steve deemed the tears gone he settle down on the ground, pawing softly in a manner suggesting he wanted to get closer. Tony looked to a spot on the ground before nodding, not having the courage to meet Steve's eye after his mind decided to unhelpfully bring up the past life he lived. He didn't want Steve to see.

The alpha crawled closer, licking one more time on his jaw before tucking his snout over the side of Tony's neck, in-between his shoulder and back of his jaw. Tony stiffened momentarily for having Steve so close to his unprotected neck. He didn’t believe Steve would mark his neck without permission, but Hammer had fooled him before. And he knew he shouldn’t compare Steve with Hammer - the alphas were completely different to each other - but the shock that Tony had felt when Hammer went for his neck for the first time without a single warning was unpleasant and nauseating and just so _wrong_. He couldn’t make a sound for days after it happened.

Having Steve so close to his neck revived the sensation, causing the skin just below his jaw to itch, but the alpha didn’t do anything. His snout was resting on his neck and that was it. Steve wasn’t making a move to mark his neck in any way. Tony relaxed slowly, letting his head rest over Steve’s front leg.

Tony's face was snug against the alpha’s chest, the fur tickling his skin. With hesitation he reached out and grabbed hands full of fur, holding him closer. Steve went along, settling his body as close as he could without disturbing the lump of machine under the coat.

Steve’s gentle heartbeat, smell and his body's warmth soothed Tony down and lulled him to sleep.

He woke up again some time later to the same warmth and heartbeat, but the smell that was Steve got mixed in with other scents. A dazed look around and he found all the Avengers had gotten closer, still in their shifted forms. Bucky was curled up next to Steve, the fur around their hips touching. Over Tony, curled up near Bruce, was Natasha, and besides Natasha was Clint and Sam tucked in together with their limbs disappearing within each other. Jan and Hank were no better with the disappearing limbs, in-between Clint and Sam and Thor and Loki. As for the latter, the lion was stretched out on his side, showing his belly to the world and the python was sprawled over the fuzzy surface, his head tucked and hidden inside the mane.

It was a pile. Not a completely close pile where everyone was in contact with two other pack mates, but a pile none the less. And with Bruce pressing against his back, and Jarvis and Vision pressing on his stomach and one side of his face buried in Steve’s fur Tony felt content and… and… giddy. Giddy from how _happy_ he was because that was what he was. He was happy.

A rumbling noise from Steve and his slow breathing signalled him still asleep so Tony dared bury his face even closer, almost cuddling the alpha. Tony released a satisfied sigh and believed he could happily lie there forever. The thought that he was taking advantage of Steve was far away from his mind. It didn’t matter so long as none of the Avengers were awake to see him.

Too bad some of the Avengers refused to play along.

“So you _are_ a cuddler. This is perfect. Steve is one of the biggest cuddlers you will ever meet. Bucky is a close second. This is a match made.”

Tony went tense for a moment and pulled his head enough to look over Steve’s side to see Jan awake and grinning. To the right of her was Clint with his head resting on the ground and his eyes open. He turned his head just enough to face Tony without disturbing Sam, who was still asleep and using the back of Clint’s neck and his shoulders as a pillow.

Clint was smiling with his tongue out. “Great. That means you’re not against contact, right? I don’t have to worry about you pushing me away when I snuggling up against you. ‘Cause I will. I’m warning you now.”

“You still have to worry about our Captain, Clint. I think if anything he’s going to claim cuddling rights and he’ll fight you for it.”

Hank was resting his head over Jan’s paws and spoke without opening his eyes. “He won’t just fight you. You’ll lose an arm if you’re not careful.”

Jan bumped her snout against the top of his head. “You just gave yourself away. Stop playing possum.”

Hank groaned and twisted his body to lie on his back, paws up and belly exposed. Jan snorted at the display before placing her snout over the exposed underside of his jaw and gave a lick.

“Ugh,” Clint said, appearing as revolted as a canine could. “Doing it in public. In front of us all. You two disgust me.”

“As if you’re any better,” mumbled Sam without movement. If he hadn’t said anything none of them would’ve realized he was awake.

Clint twitched his head upwards, causing Sam’s to slide off without a fight. It landed with a heavy ‘thump’ on the ground that had Tony wincing from just the sight of it, but Sam appeared unaffected and even rolled the upper half of his body to rest on his back, mimicking Hank.

“You were saying?” Clint said dryly, still pleasing his mate by softly biting the point where jaw met neck and nibbling, earning a soft pleased whine that turned to a grumble when Clint pulled away. “I just want to say that I am incapable. I have no power to resist. It’s all his fault,” he said before returning back to the spot of wet fur he had created.

Grooming. Tony’s head supplied. Jan and Clint were grooming their mates, and their mates hadn’t done anything besides roll over in order to initiate the grooming. They didn’t ask, didn’t whine, didn’t… beg - for their mates to groom them. And their mates looked happy to do so. Looked almost pleased from it, as if they enjoyed it.

Tony hadn’t been groomed in… well, in such a long time. He was starting to realize there were a lot of things that hadn’t been done to him, or to better phrase it, he was realizing there were a lot of things that _had_ been done to him. Almost all of them not the most decent things. One of those being Hammer never willing to groom him. The alpha hated it. Despised having anything to do with showing any sort of affection. All Tony began craving for once he started living a life deprived from it.

It was all well, though. He learned to survive with the little he received thanks to Jarvis and Vision. It was enough, just enough, for an omega like himself, and after living years in that manner he got used to it. His body and mind accepted the fact that he was only ever going to receive a limited amount of physical contact that didn’t involve breeding. He was thankful for it. The occasions he was desperate enough that he begged Hammer weren’t his greatest moments. The day his desire for contact simmered down to a manageable need was perhaps one of the greatest days in his years with Hammer. It gave him a sort of freedom. A control Hammer couldn’t get his hands on.

Not the most pleasant control, but he survived and that was all that mattered.

Still, watching the two beta pairs openly showing endearment, no hesitation or disgust whatsoever, made Tony envy them. He longed for it. Quietly stared at them wistfully. What he would give to have received the same treatment years ago.

He would have continued staring at the pair if the alpha resting on him didn’t make a rumbling whine and shifted. Steve’s chest expanded as he took in a deep breath and he rotated his head so his snout was tucked behind Tony’s ear.

The instinct to protect his neck reared up in Tony and he was a second away from pushing and crawling a distance from the alpha when, suddenly, something slimy that could’ve only been a tongue ran over from the skin next to his ear to his hairline.

The grip he still had over chunks of the alpha’s fur tightened. The sensation of a tongue running over his skin was so foreign that it left Tony stiff and gaping because, good lord almighty, was Steve doing what he thought he was doing? Was Steve even aware that he was doing it?

Three more licks later and Steve decided his work was done. He was apparently still asleep because the next thing the alpha did was push against Tony, forcing Tony to lie on his back instead of on his side. Steve then continued to cuddle up over Tony’s chest, paws placed over his shoulders and snout still in place by his neck. The alpha sighed and made no further movement.

Tony continued gaping, eyes wide and cheeks flushing. The new position had him hugging the alpha in a more obvious manner and the warmth was practically draped over him like a blanket. It was the comfiest Tony had been in, and that was saying something considering he was lying on the ground. Then Vision had to release a whistle to inform him he was awake and found the arrangement interesting. Tony couldn’t see the little machine, but he could perfectly imagine the mechanized smirk. And then to add more salt to his situation he felt Jarvis hop over his stomach and nestle himself down. “I see you’re enjoying this fine morning, Sir.”

Tony frowned at the sky, hoping against odds that Jarvis somehow saw the glare was meant for him.

“Oh, he’s enjoying it. That’s for sure,” Clint chirped, returning to his task of grooming Sam when the beta whined and pawed blindly at him.

Tony felt movement to his left. A sure sign that Bruce was awake as well. “If you wanted more room you could’ve just told me, Tony.” And yeah, that was Bruce, awake and drinking in the sight of Tony being straddled by a giant wolf.

In the heat of the embarrassing moment Tony ended up releasing a mewl and dropped his head back on the ground. In doing so he resulted in coming face to face with Natasha’s upside down dry look. “Good morning,” she said, appearing to find the situation amusing but refusing to show it. Her voice had the faintest hint of mirth. “It seems Steve took it upon himself to keep you warm for the night.”

Tony refused to admit it, but he knew for a split second he had pouted. Face flushed and pouting, he could only imagine what a sorry image he created, and Steve was not helping as he proceeded to tighten his paws and hold Tony even closer.

Then of course, because this was his life, his stomach decided to make itself known and growled in demand for food. And because Jarvis was sitting on his stomach he not only heard the full force of the noise, he also felt it and pecked back as retaliation. “It seems you’re hungry, Sir.”

“Thank you, Jarvis, for that observation,” grumbled Tony.

“Any time. I am happy to assist.”

All around him movement started to happen. Those who had been asleep prior were starting to slowly rouse and stretch. Thor being the one to stretch out and push some of the closest pack-mates over. Loki ended up sliding off of him from the movement and hissed in annoyance.

“Breakfast time?” Clint asked as he got on his four paws.

“Who’s up?” Bucky said through a yawn.

“That’d be me,” Sam rolled over and joined Clint.

“I,” Hank didn’t sound excited but he got up nonetheless.

Bucky stood and walked over to Steve. “Clint, you’re coming with.”

“Yeah, yeah. Work me to the bone why don’t you.”

The second in command ignored the beta and trotted around to stand next to Tony’s head and pawed at Steve’s. “Time to wake up.”

Steve, for the most part, ignored the alpha trying to wake him up.

Bucky wasn’t going to give up so easily. He pushed against Steve’s forehead harder in tempo with each name he said. “Steve, Steve, Steve, Stevie, Steve, Steven, Stevo, Stove, Rogers, wake up.”

After the second name said Steve began grunting with every push, refusing to get up. When Bucky gave a solid shove that forced Steve to adjust his head over Tony’s face he, honest to God, gave a yap of exasperation.

Tony, on the receiving end of a face full of fur from Steve’s neck, could only lie back and feel every time Bucky added pressure via giant stubborn wolf who was apparently in denial of the morning. There was no escape with Steve’s body weight and grip pinning him down.

“A house is on fire,” Bucky continued trying, “Clint fell down a well, Sam fell off a tree, Thor ate all the sweets -”

“I have done no such thing!”

“- Hank is about to explode the place -”

“In my defense I haven’t exploded anything in two weeks.”

“- Loki is trapped in a hole,” Bucky took a pause, plotting, “ _Tony_ is trapped in a hole.”

The response was immediate. Steve growled and began swiping the offending paw, but he still refused to move. When everything else Bucky said after that ended in failure he switched tactics and leaned his snout down to grab at the difficult alpha and pull him up. But instead of grabbing chunks of Steve’s fur like Tony had believed Bucky avoided anything to do with the alpha and went for Tony’s coat collar and tugged. Tony moved perhaps an inch before Steve struck and bit his second in command’s snout with a bark.

Bucky let go with a yelp that was more out of surprise than pain and reared back. Tony was equally as surprised and the rest of the pack shared the sentiment as well. Fearing they might have pushed Steve’s temper Tony remained still, waiting in case he needed to run from a raging alpha or somehow defend himself and lessen the blows that were to come. All that happened, however, was Steve letting out another bark before he huffed and placed his snout back behind Tony’s ear.

A tense moment passed by where Bucky didn’t seem to know what to do next, but once he looked to have realized what was going on he barked back, pawed at the ground and went for Tony’s collar again from the snout free side. Steve responded instantly by going for Bucky before he could yank at the coat, releasing a playful growl.

Bucky returned the favor and continued trying to grab hold of the coat, receiving the same results when Steve snapped his teeth at him. They went back and forth, moving around to both strike and cover different spots all around Tony. It was a slow understanding for Tony, but once he figured out that the two alphas were _playing_ it was as if a lever had been flipped and he couldn’t believe this was his - his _life_.

The giddiness he had felt earlier returned and he couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up even if he tried. He was grinning, grinning and scrunching up his face because he couldn’t keep his eyes open and continue staring at the ridiculousness that was occurring over him. He snorted and covered his face with his sleeve, his laughter filling the air.

Then Clint’s laughter joined his own and his was accompanied by yips and barks. Then Jan, then Sam, then Hank and then Thor. The lion, instead of creating yips, had rumbles going along and small roars.

Bruce was leaning against an elbow and was smirking at the display. Jarvis had moved over to stand on the omega’s shoulder in order to avoid getting hit accidentally by Steve and was releasing squawks and whistles of joy. Vision rolled back and forth next to them, seeming to want to join in on the fun but holding back.

Steve and Bucky continued their game, and at one defiant act by Steve that involved him pulling back the coat and burying his head inside it in order to hide and pretend to be asleep again, Tony snorted, louder than ever before, and he couldn’t stop the following strings of laughter.

He dared to look at Steve once his laughter settled down to something reasonable and found the alpha half-covered by the blue coat and happily staring back at him, overjoyed for some reason and wagging his tail.

Steve barked again before deciding to finally start the day and stood up. Tony immediately missed the warmth that left him but his stomach agreed that their day needed to begin so it could get breakfast already.

Bracing his elbows down so he could lift himself up Tony was caught off-guard when Steve nuzzled his cold nose against his jaw and trotted off to where the hunters of the morning were gathering without another word.

“Comfortable night, I take it?” Bruce said with a knowing smile once the party left.

In an act of defiance Tony refused to shy away from it. The Avengers were one thing, but this was Bruce. He had confidence with Bruce. “The best. He makes the perfect blanket.”

That, out of everything that had been said, had Bruce laughing. “I'm glad, Tony. I really am.”

Jarvis flapped his wings in place, causing some strands of Bruce's hair to jump back and forth. Vision made a long high note before rolling in a continuous circle over and over again, his version of dancing.

Unable to resist the contagious laughter and antics Tony joined along. Another sensation joined his stomach along with his hunger. The pain that came from laughing so much in one go.

Tony enjoyed the feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to give a special shout out to Kigichi for showing me the video that basically inspired Steve's behavior here. All your videos always make me happy, thank you! [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0tDZU6vpkY)
> 
> I'd also like to give all of you readers a special shout out as well. I couldn't have done all this without ya! Thanks for motivating me with all your lovely comments.  
> Keep on smiling and have a great day!


	12. Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff. 
> 
> Warning at the bottom for the next chapter so keep an eye out for that when you reach it!

Tony found himself feeling, well, excited when the town of Hattan was within sight.

The sun was fading, the travel had been long and, according to Clint and Sam, who have been talking nonstop about wanting to bathe the moment they made it home, the Avengers’ house was minutes away and all Tony wanted to do was find something soft and just lie down on it. Didn’t matter if it was a bed or a rug, so long as it was softer than the ground Tony was going to get knocked out on it.

Of course a bath couldn’t hurt, but Tony didn’t see it happening tonight. The Avengers all looked to have claimed a turn on the bath, and it appeared to be a first claim first serve situation. Maybe tonight Tony wasn’t going to get a chance to bathe, but perhaps tomorrow he’d have better luck.

The idea of a soft surface was more appealing. As long as he had that he couldn’t complain.

“I can’t wait to get home,” Clint said with a stretch. He raised his arms and arched his back, creating a satisfying crack of the bones. “I’m never leaving the bed once I touch it. Ever. I’m going to hog it all.”

“Not if I get to it first,” Sam countered, “and even if you somehow beat me I’m just going to push you off.”

“Harsh. You wound me.”

“No Mercy.”

Jan sighed. “I just want to see home again. Feels like a long time since we last saw it.”

Tony wondered how long it truly had been since the Avengers saw their home. In fact, he wondered what they had been doing prior to meeting him and Bruce. Saving a town, perhaps? Or fighting off raiders? Maybe even fighting against one of the many Hydra packs out there.

“It has been a while since we last saw it.” Clint thought it over then looked to Tony and Bruce. “You’re going to love the place. It’s huge with enough room to fit in an entire family pack and even some horses and chickens and a moose!”

Tony blinked. “A moose?”

“If we ever get our hands on one at least. Bottom line, you’ll never want to leave the place. Of course there’s the downer of living on the outer edges of the town. We’ve got to walk a good distance before we find the nearest trade. Comes with the title of a famous war pack.”

Jan nodded in disappointment. “We can’t risk living smack in the middle of settlements in case enemies attack us personally in our own den. We don’t want to put the citizens in danger or cause property damage, but it is a struggle.”

Sam tsked, appearing disappointed in the two betas. “Don’t listen to them. They’re just being dramatic and lazy. It isn’t so bad. Overtime you’ll come to enjoy the walks between home and town. There’s a huge section of forest all around and also a river that runs along the road at a certain point. Nothing like the smell of fresh water in the early morning.”

From the way Sam explained it that actually sounded nice. Tony almost couldn’t wait for his first trip to Hattan and enjoy the sights. He remembered the town of Hattan. He had liked the town. Hammer had done plenty of business with the surrounding areas that required having to pass through Hattan. The place reminded him of his childhood hometown and the few good memories he had in it.

To think the Avengers had set up their home so close to Hattan. All those opportunities where he could’ve had the chance to meet them earlier. Maybe, if that had happened, he could’ve escaped from Hammer sooner and Steve could’ve been interested in him with less years on his back. That was if Steve still had the same interests back then.

What was it about him that had caught Steve’s attention? He had to wonder. If not an elaborate joke as Tony had originally thought, then what did Steve see in him? Couldn’t have been because of his personality. The alpha barely knew him, and three days wasn’t a substantial enough time to know a person and all their traits. Possibly his looks? For all Tony knew, Steve might have a type. Maybe older omegas was what the alpha found attractive? The wrinkles and the white and dark of his hair was what Steve looked for.

If that were the case then Tony was perfect, so long as Steve hadn’t planned to start a family with him. If Steve wanted the latter… then he should drop his losses and find a proper mate that could give it to him.

Come to think of it, Tony should tell the alpha about his infertility already so Steve wouldn’t build himself up only to have disappointment when Tony broke the news. It was… it was the right thing to do, but Tony was selfish. It was a silent trait hardly anyone knew about, especially when he himself was barely discovering it, but after living years with little good happening in them, whenever something worthwhile occurred that made him happy he clung to it for dear life.

It was wrong of him and could only end with Steve heartbroken, the Avengers angry and Bruce disappointed, but just for a little while longer he wanted to keep experiencing joy. Already the pack had made him feel lighthearted. The most content he had been in years. For however long he could he wanted to keep experiencing it.

He’ll beg for forgiveness when the time came. Hell, if fate was on his side and decided to give him a second chance and have Steve forgive him and still want him, Tony would happily accept it. He wouldn’t even mind if Steve went ahead and got another mate that could give him what he wanted, so long as Tony was able to stay with Bruce and the pack.

“Hello? Tony? Toony? You there?”

Tony blinked back to Sam waving a hand in front of his face. “Huh?”

“There you are. You spaced out on us. Where’d you go?”

He pushed down his embarrassment and guilt. “Nowhere. I was just thinking.”

At that both Jarvis and Bruce gave him a sharp look, but he refused to make eye contact with them.

“Uh-huh,” Sam eyed him as well, searching for a visual. “Seems dangerous to do if it makes you unresponsive like that. We’ve been trying to get your attention.”

“R-really? Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Sam shrugged. “No reason to apologize. You were making odd faces. You looked -” he paused, reconsidering what he was going to say. “Never mind. You were making funny faces Like so,” he then proceeded to make an exaggerated face that consisted of making his mouth lopsided with his bottom lip sticking out and frowning.

Tony was scandalized at the unflattering sight. “I was not!”

“Were so.”

“Was not.”

“Were so.”

“Was not,” Tony stubbornly persisted.

“That’s enough, leave him alone, Sam,” Jan cut in before Sam continued, effectively ending their banter. “Just because he has a more handsome face than yours.”

“I object to that,” Clint gasped, outraged. “Sam is a very attractive man. I’ll admit, Tony is pretty good looking and I secretly envy Steve for it because wow, Tony, you aged well.”

Tony’s face flushed at the compliment while Sam appeared offended.“Mate right here, Clint.”

“But Sam is the best looking out of all of us,” Clint finished with a cross of his arms, huffing and closing his eyes.

Simultaneously, everyone, including the beta Clint was trying to compliment, Bruce and even Jarvis, turned around to give the beta a dry look. So dry the area had practically turned into a desert. For a solid ten seconds they just stood there staring at him. Clint was apparently unaffected by the looks or just used to them because he remained as so with his crossed arms and eyes closed.

“I shall haunt him in his dreams tonight,” Loki said in a promise, breaking the silence. Everyone appeared to approve of the offer, nodding together before continuing the travel.

Clint even looked nervous after hearing that, walking closer to Sam as if trying to use him as a shield. Sam wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t even think about it. You brought this upon yourself, you’re dealing with it.”

“Don’t throw me to the wolves,” Clint paled. “You’re supposed to love me.”

Thor grinned and took long strides to wrap his arm around Clint’s shoulders. “You are mistaken! Your mate does not surrender you to the canines, for Loki is of the serpent kind. Your mate is, in every sense of the saying, handing you to the snake. Be wary, Loki bites.”

Loki released a hiss for good measure.

“That does _not_ make me feel better, Thor,” Clint growled.

“Ah, forgive me. Was I meant to?” From the way Thor was still grinning it was obvious he wasn’t sorry at all.

“You little double-crosser.”

“You are misguided who the miniature one is.”

To the side both Sam and Loki exchanged glances, understanding each other’s pain it seemed. Tony had to wonder how long the two had been mated with the pair that were currently bickering because it appeared to be a constant occurrence they learned to ignore. At least he wondered how long Clint and Sam had been mated. Clint didn’t exactly do a good job hiding it. Thor and Loki, however, he couldn’t tell what the two were to each other. They appeared closest, but didn’t exactly show open affection besides embracing, and that was usually interpreted in many different ways.

Were they mated, or were they really close pack-mates and friends? Perhaps one day, when Tony was considered close pack to them, they’d offer the information themselves, or if Tony got too curious and wasn’t able to resist asking hopefully they’d answer him.

In the meantime he’d figure the lion and the python were close enough for Loki to experience the same thing Sam was feeling at watching his mate make a fool of himself and furiously ignoring it. The rest of the pack were doing a very good job doing so. Must have happened a lot.

They continued bickering for most of the way, to the point that Tony felt his ear nearly fall off from all the talking. Getting his ear talked off, what a way to lose a body part. Thankfully, both Sam and Loki couldn’t take it anymore at a certain point and pulled their individual mate and possible mate away, grabbing the back of their necks in order to keep them walking.

“This isn’t over, Thor,” Clint waved a fist at the lion shifter.

“I am aware of where you reside, Clinton. Slumber with a cautious eye,” Thor warned with his own wave of a fist.

With ever growing energy from the knowledge that the Avengers’ home was getting closer the urge to join in on some form of cheekiness made Tony want to join in, but he knew not to push. The Avengers might have been welcoming, but perhaps they wouldn’t appreciate him pushing in on something that only belonged to them.

“Something on your mind, again?”

Tony twitched at the sudden question and quickly berated himself at the reflex. He had been doing so well. “There’s always something on my mind, you know that, Brucie.”

Bruce hummed. “I do know that, just like I know that you thinking about something so deeply is a dangerous thing.”

“That hurts, Brucie-bear. That hurts me right here,” Tony pointed at his chest.

Bruce in turn smirked before bumping his shoulder with Tony’s lightly, snorting when Tony bumped his right back. “You wound me. Where was all that love you talked about?”

“I’ll always have love for you, but right now I feel betrayed.”

“What’s this?” Jan suddenly appeared next to them. “Love? Betrayal? Treason? Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. Who’s betraying who? Who has wounded the other? Who has a big secret they haven’t said?”

Tony felt his heart stop for a second, and from the way he felt Bruce tense up he knew Bruce had a similar reaction. Jan didn’t appear to mean all her questioning, but even playing around she had hit way too close to home with the last question.

“Uh,” Tony managed and for a moment he panicked. What was he going to say? He had to think of something. He had to somehow redirect her attention.

“Everyone look alive. Home is within sight,” Natasha interrupted his train of thought, successfully distracting Jan and the rest of the pack. Tony breathed in relief, tension melting away, but then Natasha looked at him and Bruce directly and a chill ran down his spine. Tony must have been seeing things because the glint in the red-headed alpha’s eye couldn’t be mistaken for anything else but awareness. It was a knowing glint.

Tony couldn’t even panic at the knowledge because she blinked once, showed the slightest upward curve of her lips and looked away. Confused, Tony turned to Bruce for an answer, but even Bruce didn’t know what had just occurred. Either way, they weren’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth and trotted forward to keep up with the pack that suddenly picked up the pace at the sight of ‘home.’

Tony stared wide-eyed at the building the Avengers called home appeared through some trees. It was a grand two story mansion that had additional rooms connected on both sides, looked to extend further from the back, had what could’ve only been a tower somehow connected at the end, and even had a garden on the side.

At Vision’s whistle of astonishment Tony, Jarvis and Bruce exchanged glances of disbelief. ‘This is a warpack house?’ Tony mouthed at them, not believing it even after they had just seen it. There were no other buildings around, which meant this home was the only possible home of the Avengers, and it was mindboggling. War packs weren’t exactly known for bringing in a lot of coin, seeing as their revenue came from taking whatever battle contracts were available.

There were plenty of problems out on the roads and the dangers of raider packs for there to be a slow continuous quantity of contracts, enough for a war pack to have a decent home, but nothing like this. This building, this _mansion_ , should’ve been out of the Avenger’s pay rate, especially when the Avengers were widely known for completing certain contracts and not accepting the pay.

Not even Hammer’s home had been this big. How were the Avengers able to pay for it?

When they were a yards distance away Clint’s trotting turned into a full out run. He shouted something about “home sweet home” before grabbing onto what appeared to be a wooden fence that decorated a section of the wall used for the garden and began _climbing_ to the second floor. He was crawling his way up, jumped to latch onto the edge of a window, somehow was able to unlock it and slid inside.

“That little rat,” Sam muttered as the rest of them continued to the door in a more sedate pace. “Oh, he’s definitely sleeping on the floor tonight.”

Because of the scrambled arrangement they had taken while trotting over Tony ended up walking next to Steve when the alpha openly waited for him. He fell in step when Tony reached him, daring to make small contact by making his hand brush softly with Tony’s whenever their steps got out of sync. Tony’s heart leaped at every contact and he even purposely extended his arm, the most subtle of movement, in order to increasing the touch. He got the feeling Steve was doing the same.

They reached the door far too soon in Tony’s opinion, but the hope of a bed - or at least a very soft seat, or even a rug of sorts - overruled the disappointed feeling. The thought of a soft surface had his bones aching in relief. He couldn’t wait to actually experience it.

The pack passed through the doors one by one, Tony and Bruce lagging behind with Steve and (to Tony’s teasing benefit) Natasha. Once they passed through the doors Tony found the amazement they experienced from seeing the outside of the mansion was nothing compared to the inside. It was grand with a shiny wooden floor, rugs on certain spots, display cases on the sides that showed off a collection of knives, patterned shields that held no purpose except for decorating the walls, pistols and one scepter placed on mantels, chairs scattered in no visible arrangement, one large table and a chandelier.

On the roof there were what looked to be smooth branches creating a web of thin curving bridges. Some of those branches connected to trapdoors that seemed to open to the second floor. That was one way of reaching it, Tony thought. He certainly won’t be using it. Thankfully, on the left side, all the way to the back, there were a flight of stairs. The Avengers each disappeared up those steps, leaving Steve and Natasha to apparently give Tony and Bruce the tour.

Tony didn’t pay them any mind. He was more amazed about the mansion. The more he looked around the more he found and the more he still couldn’t understand how this was the Avengers’ home. He must have showed his confusion on his face because when he made eye contact with Natasha she raised an eyebrow and formed the faintest smirk. “Surprised? Not what you expect from a war pack, I’m sure.” Tony felt embarrassment take over at being caught. She shifted her gaze to Bruce, who appeared to have the similar reaction as him.  

“We didn’t - I mean, we weren’t going to -” Bruce sputtered, rubbing his hands in a gesture Tony knew meant he was nervous.

Her eyes softened. It was the subtlest of changes, but Tony was able to catch it. “You’re not the first, trust us. We see it all the time when we have guests over. The few guests that we get, anyhow.”

Tony wondered how many guests that would be. What number were Bruce and him?

Steve nodded at what Natasha had said and gave a smile. “We actually don’t even know how we managed it. Still can’t believe it, honestly, and we’ve been living here for a couple of years already.” Tony noticed him shift closer, standing a touch away from him. He wasn’t the only one to track the movement. Bruce, Natasha and even Jarvis, who was currently nesting on the other omega’s shoulder, had near identical sets of complacent faces.

Tony gave his friend and cockatoo a dry look. The effect probably ruined by his pinkened cheeks, but still he tried.

“We’d show you around the place, but you’re probably tired,” Steve continued, still giving one of those medal winning smiles. “We have empty rooms for you to take as your own. They’re mostly empty since no one has used them except for the occasional item left behind by Clint and Hank since they have a habit of leaving stuff everywhere. Doesn’t even matter if the rooms have been locked. They somehow manage it.”

“Come,” Natasha gestured her head to the stairs. “The sooner we take you the sooner you can rest.”

Rest. Tony was eagerly looking forward to it. Lie down on a bed with no bump or pebbles to press against his side or back and a pillow to place his head on. He was going to sleep the rest of the day and night away. Something short of pushing him off the bed and dragging him out of the room was going to wake him up.

Tony followed after Steve and Natasha with a bounce to his steps. Bruce was probably walking with his own bounce if he was as excited as he. He knew Jarvis was for sure, seeing as the cockatoo was puffing his feathers in anticipation. Overwhelming, almost, since he flew off Bruce’s shoulder and nested on Tony’s in order to curl up against his neck and nuzzled a bit. Vision was showing his own excitement by swinging as much as he could in the bag while Tony still carried it, earning himself a small bruise on his hip.

Tony placed a hand on the little machine in order to keep him still, petting him when Vision gave a small whistle of annoyance that made Tony chuckle then switched it to surrender after Tony had said, “Dance all you want when you’re on the floor, otherwise I won’t walk right with you breaking my hip.”

“You’re not old enough to break your hip from Vision bumping on it,” Bruce said. “You’ll still walk funny, but not because of a broken hip.”

Tony pointed a finger at him, wagging disapprovingly. “You have no input on this. If I say he’s going to break my hip, he’s going to break my hip, and once he does you’re the one who’s going to have to take care of me.”

He saw the moment Bruce decided to snark even before he said anything. The omega side eyed Steve briefly, gave a smirk when he returned his gaze to Tony, and even after Tony had given a “ _Don’t_ ” as a warning, Bruce still went ahead with it. “I’m sure Steve will be happy to take care of you.”

Tony was about to retort, but it seemed the alpha had heard Bruce because he looked behind to them with an honest to God hopeful smile. “I’ll be happy to, should Tony allow me, but I don’t think it’s necessary. I get the feeling it’ll take more than Vision dancing on you for it to happen.”

“You’d be right, Mister Rogers,” Jarvis confirmed. “Sir simply enjoys taking content out of proportion. He thrives on it.”

Tony glared at the cockatoo and thought, what had he done in order to get acquainted with these bunch? He was happy that this could be his future now, but was it worth all the teasing and almost permanently keeping his face red because of it?

Jarvis nipped his ear affectionately. “We would not have it any other way.”

There was fondness in Steve’s eyes. “I bet.”

Tony found the answer to his question. Yes, it was worth it. Even if he had to give his omega friend a talking to and teach the cockatoo some manners. He certainly didn’t remember the feathery menace being this snarky before.

“Here we are,” Natasha said after leading them down the hall with multiple doors on the second floor. The door they stopped in front of was located further down from the stairs, on one corner of the place. She pushed it open to reveal exactly what Steve had described. A mostly empty room with arrows and glass potion bottles decorating the floor and few pieces of furniture. There was a bed big enough for two pushed up against the wall with the softest looking material Tony had ever seen since living in the shacks.

He wanted to jump right on it.

“You both can decide on which room to take. This one or the one next door. They’re about the same, perhaps one being cleaner than the other. We can get Clint and Hank to clean up their mess right away if you want,” Steve explained.

“No, this is fine,” Tony reassured, contemplating what the alpha had said. Bruce and him could have a room all on their own. While it sounded like the ideal accommodation he found the proposal lonely. It was one thing to sleep the nights alone in a shack, seeing as the little make-shift housing wasn’t by design to be very spaceful. These rooms, however, they had a lot of space, almost about the same space as the storage rooms he slept in when Hammer tired of him and kicked him out to have a much needed break. Perhaps even more, considering it was near empty and had no materials to fill up the space.

Still, he should be thankful, even if he was to sleep alone. He got used to it with Hammer. He could get used to this. Besides, he had Bruce and his new pack to look forward to in the mornings. He’d be eager starting the day with them.

Vision’s long whistle interrupted his thoughts and from his shoulder Jarvis flew over to the bed, claiming it. He watched fondly as the cockatoo trotted around the mattress in three full circles before tucking himself in.

“Guess we’re getting this room. The bird has spoken,” he said to the others.

Bruce chucked. “I’ll take the room next door.”

“I’ll take you,” Natasha said and together the pair left. Tony didn’t even get a chance to get back at the omega since he walked away without once looking at him. Bruce knew.

Vision beeped and made himself known by shaking the bag in determination, wanting to get down and explore their new room.

“All right, hang on a second. No need to get violent with me,” Tony unhooked the strap of the bag from his shoulder and gently placed it on the ground. Vision rolled out the moment he made contact and hurriedly made turns around the open space.

“For someone who has steel as a face he’s surprisingly expressive,” Steve said.

“Don’t let him hear you say that, otherwise he’ll never stop.” As if to prove their points Vision made a show of trying to roll down the bed covers he could reach in order to make a ramp for himself and crying out in outrage when Jarvis grabbed those same covers and flapped his wings to pull them back. Vision continued rolling and Jarvis continued pulling. It was a never ending game.

Steve laughed at their antics. “They really are one of a kind. You’re very lucky to have them.”

“I really am.” The few things good in his life he found were some of the best that a person could have. He was going to cling to them as a limpet and fight anyone who tried to take them away.

“Tony,” Tony’s heart fluttered from the way the alpha had said his name, It sounded so gentle, so soft. It calmed him. “Stop me if this is too forward, but tomorrow the pack hadn’t planned for anything. It’s our rest day. Would you like to take a walk with me? I could show you around our territory. Take you to the lake.”

A lake. Of course they had a lake somewhere, but that wasn’t important enough to keep his attention because… Steve had said ours. Granted he could’ve meant himself and the Avengers, but… he had gestured his hand to Tony and then himself, including Tony on the list of ‘our.’

This was - this was his territory, too. He didn’t know how such a small thing, a simple word, could make him feel so emotional, but damn was it happening.

His throat had a lump in it. Must’ve been his heart. “I would -” he swallowed and then smiled, “I would love to.”

The alpha’s face lit up, much as it had been happening each time he looked at Tony. “Have a good night, Tony. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He then leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek before walking away, leaving Tony to make himself comfortable alone.

He shut the door and placed his traveling bag down. One look around the room and he found, even if he was to sleep with all this free space and only a cockatoo and roly-poly machine to help him fill it up, he didn’t mind. He had something to look forward to. The pack, Bruce, Steve. He couldn’t wait.

A hard thump, Vision whining and the sound of a cockatoo squawking in indignation had him laughing because somehow the little machine had succeeded in, not just yanking down the bed cover, but also managing to get tangled in them. Jarvis was somewhere in the mess squirming with only one white wing visible for Tony to see. He was bouncing, trying to get the cloth off, and Tony was doubled over at the sight.

“Sir, I must insist you desist your laughter and aid us!”

“No, I don’t think so. Looks like you both are having a lot of fun there,” he said as he began stripping his boots, Steve’s blue coat that he carefully folded, and his waistcoat, leaving him with nothing but his shirt and pants.

He deliberately took his time doing so and snorted when he made his way over to the pile of rumpled and flailing mess. Jarvis was completely gone now and Vision’s body shape couldn’t be distinguished anywhere under the cover.

The pile stopped moving when he came closer. “Sir?”

Taking pity he grabbed hold of it and carefully pulled it away, making sure not to yank if he accidentally grabbed the cockatoo’s feathers. When they were free Jarvis gave an annoyed squawk, his ruffled plumage justifying his attitude. Vision rolled to stand next to the cockatoo, bumping him lightly, but Jarvis ignored him in favor of glaring Tony down.

“Come on, none of that,” Tony scooped him and Vision up, tucking them on the bed and reaching for the covers after. He maneuvered around the two so he could curl up and hold them close, wrapping the cover and sighing.

He couldn’t wait for the next day to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read!
> 
> I should have tagged and said this from the start, but for some reason I never got to it. This a/b/o fic has intersex/hermaphrodites as a norm here. Most of the second genders are, two of them aren’t. There’s going to be an intimate scene in the next chapter (sorry Kigichi, I lied. I changed things up after our conversation in the comments) so I felt I should’ve warned you now so you can decide to continue or not. If you continue reading get ready for some steamy action. 
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter!  
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Omega in Distress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! For those who haven't seen the tags or last chapter''s notes or simply forgot or wanted a reminder, this chapter has a heated moment (not the amount everyone hoped for) and there is mention of intersex. Watch out for it!
> 
>  
> 
> This is fluff, angst, comfort, angst, comfort, bit of smut and more angst. All in that order.  
> Turned out to be more angsty than I had originally planned

For the first time in a month Tony woke up to his bones not protesting from having slept on a hard surface. In fact, his bones felt as if they were singing, well rested, and he didn't want to get up and risk bringing forth unknown or forgotten sores.

He would have remained on the bed if not for a stubborn cockatoo who was adamant on getting him up and going and a roly-poly machine who wanted to get the day started.

He twitched when he felt Jarvis peck  his cheek softly and whined when he did it again. The bird was relentless and showed no pity for him as he continued in a pattern. Vision decided to aid by gently rolling to bump against his side, lazily doing it over and over again until finally Tony gave in, gave a groan and got up.

“You both will be the death of me,” he muttered as he sat upright.

“We must keep you on your toes, Sir. We are your charges. We can't allow you to rest,” Jarvis said with satisfaction. Vision whistled in agreement, following his lead.

Tony hummed, remaining in place and closing his eyes to rest them. He was just going to rest for five more minutes. Just five.

“Sir, we shall make noise and continue to do so should you decide not to move. Do not believe we won't.”

“I'm up, I'm up, no need to beat me down. I'm a senior.”

Jarvis did a bird impersonation of a snort. “Hardly. You don't appear a day over ten, Sir.”

Tony had to pause at that and think it over. “I know you mean ten as a compliment in cockatoo years, but to us two legs ten is still a child. I don't know how I feel about looking like a kid.”

Jarvis nodded. “Understood. You don't appear a day over… twenty?”

“That's better. If only. What I would give to take twenty years off my back,” he thought longingly. “I'd be such a catch.”

“May I remind you that you have already obtained Mister Rogers’ eye, Sir. And if I understand your Shifter appeals correctly Mister Rogers is aesthetically pleasing.”

Tony whined and covered his face, “Jarvis no, not you, too.”

“Am I incorrect?”

“No - but, you don't - you don't _say_ it.”

“Why ever not?” Jarvis looked genuinely confused and even Vision emphasized the question by repeating the tone.

“It's not something - I don't know, something you don't do, I guess. You don't…” _don't express_ , Tony realized he was struggling to explain. One didn't openly express, not in his case, unless it involved heated scenes where he had to convince Hammer he was enjoying it.

“Sounds ridiculous,” Jarvis huffed. Vision mimicked the sentiment. “Why keep such things to yourself? Mister Rogers has clearly expressed his desires openly, why should you not?”

“I just… don’t,” he finished weakly. How could he explain something he learned to do over the years?

Jarvis didn’t look convinced, but thankfully he didn’t push it further. “As you wish, Sir. Breakfast, perhaps? I believe I heard some of the members of our new pack up and about for the day. Shall we join them?”

Tony got to his feet. “Yeah, of course. I just need to -” he searched through his bag for his tooth powder, making a mental note to buy a new batch whenever he visits Hattan, and for his canteen. There was still plenty of water left for two rinses with extra left over. He made another note to refill it before he slept for the night.

There were no mirrors to help with his appearance so he went for the reliable alternative. “How’s my hair? My face?”

Jarvis studied him from the bed. “On your right side. It looks like the makings of a nest I’m really tempted on utilizing. A little on the top as well.”

“Thanks, Jarvis. Really sweet words you used.”

“You asked, Sir.”

Tony snorted but got to work, doing his best to comb where Jarvis had mentioned, and after getting the cockatoo’s approval he quickly dug through his bag for the cleanest set of clothes he had. That was another mental note he added, shopping. He required a completely new wardrobe, seeing as everything he had were left behind when he broke away from Hammer. His bag could only carry so much so he took what he was wearing and brought with him three outfits and a set of nightclothes.

To his embarrassment his nightclothes were the only set he carried that were considered clean. Life in the shacks didn’t give out chances for luxuries, obviously, and in his case it meant never getting the chance to sleep with the gentle touch of soft fabric on his skin. Sleeping as a wolf at night didn’t really call for clothing and so the nightclothes were hardly used since leaving his old pack.

Tony didn’t want to, but he didn’t have a choice. It was the first day in the Avengers’ home - no, not the Avengers… _his_ pack. It was the first day getting to know his pack without the situation of traveling. He had to make a proper impression. To somehow make an impact with his new pack mates and… and impress Steve for their walk together. Dirty and wrinkled clothing was not a great start, and walking around in nightclothes wasn’t any better, but, as much as he didn’t want to, it was his only available option. They were clean. He could pass it off as enjoying the lie in and going beyond. They’d understand, right?

He just didn’t know what he was going to say to Steve. What would Steve think of him wearing nightclothes for their walk? That he was uncaring, perhaps? Wasn’t taking him seriously? Wasn’t putting the effort? With Tony’s luck he’d end up somehow insulting Steve and then causing the alpha to reconsider pursuing him. To realize there were other better options out there.

With a feeling of loss he grabbed the clothing and put them on. The loose shirt with long sleeves covering all the way to his hands and the pants that barely defined his legs weren’t exactly flattering or even respectful enough to spend an important evening with someone but… he really had no other options.

Heavy hearted he made his way to the door, being joined by Jarvis and Vision as the pair flew and rolled to sit on his shoulder and by his feet. “Ready?” he asked the pair.

“As ready as you are, Sir,”

Which wasn't much. He wad not as ready as he wished he was, but the thought disappeared the moment he opened the door and was assaulted by a delicious smell. His stomach gave a loud growl at the scent, a sweet scent that could only come from a pastry and could only be coming from the kitchen and, by God, he needed to sink his teeth on that food.

He followed the general direction the smell came from, sniffing more than necessary and imagining the flavors that would sing on his tongue if he took a bite out of the source. His stomach was churning, outraged that it wasn’t already digesting the food.

His nose led him down the hallway, down the stairs where he had to carry Vision, and across the common room to where he discovered the kitchen and dining area was located through a door connected with the common room. He stopped inches away from going through, remaining in place and hovering near the door. From his spot he could see Jan, Hank, and Loki sitting on the large circular dining table, chatting and waiting for what could only be breakfast.

He started slowly backing away from the door. In his haste to get to the food he had forgotten that he was the newcomer, the recently added pack member, and he had no right to just waltz in and demand a share of the breakfast, especially when it was someone else who cooked it. He was also not invited. Maybe one of the three sitting on the table didn’t want his presence there. Maybe they didn’t want additional mouths to fight against for their share. No, he was to wait for his turn, just as he was always required to wait with his old pack. He was looking out for them by letting them eat their fill. Hammer always said by letting their pack eat first he was making sure they were healthy and strong. The beta guards were protecting him, the least he could do was allow them to eat until their heart was content.

With more effort than he thought he made his way backwards. He was about to turn and walk back up the stairs when he was a good distance away from the door when out of nowhere someone wrapped an arm around his shoulders, mindful of the nesting cockatoo, and began practically lifting him back towards the kitchen.

“Anthony! Good morrow. Have you come to join us for the first feast?” Thor said with a smile that was not meant to be in place early in the morning, especially when it was accompanied by a mess of hair that looked to be a bird’s nest.

Tony made a high noise in the back of his throat as his toes were dragged over the surface of the floor, barely making contact. The urge to kick wildly in an attempt to gain some ground itched in his legs, but he held back. No good would come from accidentally hitting the alpha feline, or even Vision, who was rolling really close to his legs after them.

His heart thumped erratically as they passed through the door and the entire sight of the dining area and the connected kitchen on the side side of the room. Standing in the kitchen was Sam, who Tony hadn’t seen at first because of where he stood in relation to the door. His back was facing him so Tony couldn’t see what the beta was doing, but considering the plate of hotcakes and fruits next to him Tony figured he was responsible for breakfast.

He swallowed when all the eyes from those sitting on the circular table turned to him.

“Tony! Good morning. I see you’re already getting dragged around by Thor,” Jan beamed, waving at him.

Hank gave a more sedated greeting, “Good morning,” while Loki gave no greeting at all. He just rested his chin on his hand and stared lazily.

“Hello,” Tony managed. The words nearly getting stuck in his throat.

Thor marched them over to the table, placing him down next to Jan and sitting himself next to Loki. Tony shuffled awkwardly on his seat. What was he to say? What was he to _do_? He was dropped in so suddenly and unprepared. Thor probably meant well by trying to include him but what if the others didn't share the same sentiment? He was barging in on their time, disturbing their relaxation, interrupting them. He needed to excuse himself somehow without insulting them and without guilting them into staying.

His heart was frantically beating in his chest and his palms were sweating. He had his eyes down but he could feel their stares piercing into him, demanding to know why he was still sitting and why he wasn’t making the effort to leave. He hunched his shoulders, wanting to make himself look smaller. His hands were clenched over his knees, trembling. They wanted him gone, he knew they did. He needed to leave, he needed to -

He flinched when a hand touched his arm and shut his eyes in preparation for what was to follow. The hand was quickly retracted and was followed by… nothing. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and searched the direction the hand came from. His heart sank when he realized the hand belonged to Jan and she was looking at him with obvious concern. She wasn’t the only one.

Hank and Thor appeared ready to jump over the table, not to harm him - and Tony must’ve been imagining it - but to sooth him. Even Loki looked ready to flip anything within his grasps. Tony must've been losing his mind if that was what he was seeing.

He jumped when another hand was placed on his shoulder and his neck cracked from how fast he turned to the person the appendage belonged to. Sam didn’t remove his hand, if anything he tightened it a little as if trying to ground him and he stared intently.

“Tony? Breathe with me. Come on, breathe. In. Out. In. Out. That’s it. Keep breathing with me.”

Tony did what he was told, taking painfully long breaths that felt as if his chest was tearing from the inside. Slowly, but surely, the pain subsided with each intake, enough so that he managed to take in air through his nose and smell the calming pheromones Sam was releasing. And that was when it hit him. The reason why they looked panicked. He had released distressed pheromones, no doubt drenching the entire room of it and kicking their instincts into play.

His cheeks gained color from the shame of pressuring them to act against their will, to gain an emotion forced upon them by his body’s alarmed response. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was -”

Jan shushed him, reaching out but stopping just an inch away from his arm. “Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong.”

Sam still had his hand on his shoulder and Tony felt a loss when he removed it. “How do you feel?”

Tony averted his eyes. “Better. I’m better. T-thank you. I’ll just leave now…”

He moved to get up but the hand returning on his shoulder and a new one over his hand stopped him. Sam’s soothing scent was mixed in with a more softer aroma along with a sharper one. The softer seemed to come from Hank while the sharper came from Jan. Both of them different, but no less calming than Sam’s.

“You don’t have to go,” Jan said, offering an encouraging smile. “Stay with us.”

The thought of guilting them into allowing him to stay pushed forward and words were caught in his throat. Tony opened and closed his mouth, stuttering to respond. “I- I -”

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Sam reassured him, a spark of understanding in his eyes. Tony felt a spike of fear from it. Had the beta pieced it together? Had he realized what Tony had been doing, even though Tony didn’t mean to? “Tony, you’re _welcome_ to join us, if you want,” Sam stressed the invitation and Tony was at a standstill as to why.

He couldn’t even respond back. His tongue heavy in his mouth. He was welcomed to stay. They were allowing him to stay. What should he do? What should - he didn’t know what to do.

“Sir?” His heart skipped a beat at the sound of the cockatoo. “The cakes look especially delectable. Perhaps we should remain and indulge ourselves? With your permission, of course.” The last part was aimed at the two nearest betas.

Hank appeared next to him with a plate of two hotcakes before Tony could even say anything. “Here you go. Sam may be lacking in rationality, seeing as he’s mated to Clint of all people, but he makes up for it with his cooking. One of the best you’ll have in this household. He almost rivals Bucky.”

“You know what,” Sam said as he walked back to his original spot and fixed two plates. “I’ll take it. Biggest compliment I will get here.” He placed the two plates in in front of Hank’s seat and Jan. “Just wait until you try Bucky’s cooking. You’ll never want to eat anyone else’s.”

Tony stared dazedly at the plate of delicious smelling cakes. He just wanted to sink his teeth in it and lick up the entire plate, but even as the others stressed the welcoming he still hesitated. He couldn’t. Not until the others took the first bite.

“What? You’re not even going to try my cooking before deciding you don’t like it?” Sam placed two more additional plates on the table. This time for Thor and Loki. He gave Tony a stern look. “Don’t break my heart like that.”

“Anthony, you simply must try it,” Thor encouraged.

Tony swallowed, reached for the fork Jan offered him and sliced off a small portion. His hand shook slightly and he was thankful that the others were doing a darn good job pretending not to notice it, instead looking at their own plates or at something interesting at the distance. Tension melted off his shoulders the moment he took the first bite. His tastebuds were dancing, his eyes were in near tears from how delicious it was and his stomach growled in offense at still not receiving what he was getting emotional about.

He made a noise. He knew he did, but he paid no attention to it because he felt so _happy_ , and all he was doing was eating. Sometime in-between the third and fifth bite he must have closed his eyes without realizing it. When he opened them everyone minus Sam were already munching away at their cakes, Jarvis included but he was munching on a bowl of fruit. Sam himself was watching him with a smile and raised his eyebrow in question.

“It’s incredible,” Tony answered, eagerly taking another bite.

“Just incredible?” Sam teased. “Not life changing? The greatest cake you’ve ever tasted? It doesn’t make you want to be my mate?”

Tony choked when he swallowed wrong, caught off guard by the last question. Jan patted his back in sympathy. “You know Steve will sooner hide your body than allow you to bribe Tony into being your mate with your food. No matter how great it tastes.”

Sam shrugged. “Worth a try. Can’t blame me for it.”

Tony continued eating, mindful of their conversation and any sudden comments that would send him into a coughing fit. He was halfway done by the time they gave him a question.

“What are your plans for the day, Tony?” Sam said before taking a bite of his food, sitting across from him.

“I’m not sure…” Tony admitted. He was to spend time with Steve, if the alpha still wanted to, but other than walk around he didn’t know what else they were to do, or how else he was supposed to use the day until their walk happened.

“Spending the day lazing around? Man after my own heart. Don’t bother changing out of your bedtime clothes, we’re not going to.”

Tony’s eyes landed on their clothing in an instant. He hadn’t noticed before, too busy panicking to pay attention at their choice of wardrobe, but when he saw they were all wearing informal, soft and comfy outfits he almost couldn’t believe it. Now that he was taking in details he also found that Thor wasn’t the only one with hair resembling a bird's nest. Jan’s hair was also sticking out in odd places, but unlike Thor who had it loose and free, Jan had it wrapped in a messy bun. Loki had a neater bed head but there were still displaced strands here and there. Hank didn’t look to have even bothered to brush his down at all.

Seeing them all made his worries from before vanish, made it all seem silly that he made a huge deal about what they would think of him when they themselves were so laid back. They weren’t strict, they didn’t even seem to care. He felt so _relieved_ knowing he wasn’t the only one wearing night clothing. He didn’t have to explain or make up an excuse.

“How about it? Want to spend the day with us not doing anything?” Sam asked, gesturing at them all.

“I,” Tony cursed as he felt his cheeks heat up. “I promised Steve I’d… go walking… with him.” All of them giving him a knowing smirk made his face burn up even more. He swore his complexion for making it so obvious.

“Walking, huh?” Sam chuckled. “ _Just_ walking?”

“I’m sure Steve will show you all the beautiful spots we have around here,” Jan said, shooting Sam a look. “And even if you do more than walk it’s none of our business.”

That didn’t help at all. “Maybe another time on the lazing in,” he offered. “I’ll be more than happy to join you in doing nothing.”

“Great, we can use more company. The more the merrier.” Sam took a sniff. A moment of pause. “Wonder how long until Steve notices and comes running,” he commented.

“Soon, most likely,” Loki answered, and as if he had planned it perfectly somehow a loud thump was heard from somewhere on the floor above them. “Our good Captain is awake. He will join us shortly.”

Another thump, followed by very loud steps that faded away. Sam stared at where he guessed the sounds were being created and patted Thor’s arm. “I don’t think anyone else is up yet to calm him down.”

“Worry not,” Thor grinned and walked out of the room. Seconds later the loud steps returned and echoed just outside the door. “Good morrow, Steven.” Tony heard Thor say.

“Where is he? What happened? Is he all right?” Steve responded, his voice laced with evident worry and alarm.

“Be calm, my friend. Your beloved has been watched for, but you mustn’t enter in your distressed state. You shall cause more harm than good. Come, let us -” Thor’s voice faded away as steps were taken to signal their departure.

Tony searched for answers at the mention of ‘distress’ coming from the alpha. What had happened for Steve to come rushing down? What sent him in the panicked state Thor had stated? Were they in danger?

Sam was the only one to take notice of him. “Steve has a… highly sensitive nose when it comes to his pack mates. He can smell,” he waved a hand in circles, gesturing at the whole room, “he can smell, uh, smell…”

“Our Captain is able to smell misery in the air,” Loki finished without hesitation. “Your earlier show has left a large trail for him to follow. He is simply concerned for your well-being. A wonderful mate, is he not?” The serpent shifter lazily stared at him.

Tony didn’t understand if Loki’s wording was supposed to make him feel better or worse about what had happened. If anything it just brought up the guilt and embarrassment for not being able to handle his emotions properly. “I didn’t mean to panic.”

“That is not your fault,” Sam stressed, giving Loki a dirty look. “The snake over there is blunt, but he isn’t blaming you.”

“On the contrary -”

“He _isn’t_ blaming you,” Jan repeated, grabbing a blueberry from one of the four bowls scattered on the table and throwing it at the snake. “Steve cares about you and if he smells you’re in discomfort, no matter how small, he will turn into this worried hen. And it happens willingly on his part. It doesn’t mean you’re an annoyance. We’ve got to let you know now, though, since he’s still getting used to your smell, any little change in it he’s going to go above and beyond to make you feel better. He might get clingy,” she finished with a warm smile.

“She’s not joking,” Sam confirmed. “First few days he’s going to want to stay close. Did so with every one of us, but I get the feeling since he wants you as more than just a friend it’s going to be worse.”

Tony awkwardly took another bite of his food. Thankfully none of them continued their teasing and there were no further interruptions besides Vision crying out in outrage at being forgotten on the floor. Tony quickly appeased him by picking the little machine up and resting him on his lap. Vision was tall enough to have his head over the table’s surface and watched them all with avid interest as they finished their meals.

Tony looked longingly at his plate when it was empty. He still had room for more but he knew not to get selfish when it came to food. Never take more than what you needed.

The sounds of footsteps returned and through the door Steve appeared. He was calm and collected, or at least from the outside. After hearing what Jan and Sam had said about Steve’s protectiveness Tony had to wonder if on the inside Steve was still on edge from smelling his distress pheromones. The guilt returned immediately afterwards from causing Steve to react to them.

“Good morning,” Steve said and was joined by Thor at the door.

“Morning,” Sam, Jan and Hank said together.

Steve made his way over to the table and took the seat besides Tony. Tony tapped aimlessly at his empty plate with his fork, not having the courage to make eye contact with the alpha. “Good morning,” his voice was softer than he had intended. The guilt and embarrassment was making it extremely hard to just remain in the same room as Steve.

From the corner of his eye Tony could see the alpha just sitting there, possibly staring at him and thinking something over. The urge to run away was filling his senses and he knew, he _knew_ he was about to have another bout of distress and drench the entire room all over again. The arrival of Bucky and Clint didn’t help at all and only added to his reason to run.

“Tony, would you like to walk with me to the balcony?” The sudden question nearly made Tony jump out of his skin. The hand that was pushed into his line of sight prompted him to face Steve out of reflex. The alpha’s face was calm, patient, with warm and understanding eyes and he kept his hand in place, waiting for Tony to either take it or reject it. The thought of escaping the room was too tempting, but the realization that Steve offered the excuse in the first place because he wanted to help relax him gave him hesitation.

Still, Steve waited. Not looking the least bit bothered by Tony’s uncertainty. The others were probably watching them, or maybe they were not. Tony’s eyes were only on Steve and his mind was plagued by the desire to just get out. He shakingly took the offered hand, used his other to perch Vision on his arm and stood. Steve steadied him on his feet and began leading him towards the door, but after taking the first step Vision released a whistle and Jarvis ruffling one of his wings. “Vision and I shall remain here, Sir. Please, go and get some fresh air. We shall wait.”

Tony nodded, at a loss for words and gently placed Vision down on his empty seat. The little machine thanked him before he was led gently out the room, up the stairs and steered to the right through two wooden doors. The imagery resting on the other sight was beautiful and nearly took his breath away. Trees stretched across the horizon with the blue of the sky kissing their very tips. The space between the edges of the forest and the home were decorated with the garden he had seen upon arrival taking up half the space and the rest filled by grassy terrain. The fresh air was heaven sent and Tony inhaled a large amount. It was calming and released tension from his body.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He heard Steve say and he agreed. The sight was beautiful. He turned to say as much but found that Steve wasn’t even facing the landscape when he had asked. He was staring at him.

“I - yes, yes it’s beautiful,” he managed. The flush returned, but this time it wasn’t from misery. Still, even momentarily distracted he couldn’t stop his thoughts from returning back to his unstable emotions. “I’m sorry for - for what had happened. I don’t know why I… I -”

“Tony,” Steve said softly. “I don’t want to push you into answering, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with us. Please, be honest with me, did anyone do anything you were not fine with?”

Tony opened and closed his mouth in surprise. Had any of them done something _he_ was uncomfortable with? Where in the world had Steve gotten that idea from? None of them had done anything besides welcoming him… It had been _he_ who overreacted and made himself a menace to them. He created a problem out of nothing…

“No, no they didn’t do anything that I wasn’t - they _didn’t_ ,” Tony stressed when Steve looked skeptical. “It wasn’t their fault. It was all me. I panicked when Thor -” Steve’s eyes darkened, “No! No, no, not like that. I panicked because I’m not… I’m not… I didn’t know how to handle it…” Now that he said it Tony had to admit it sounded pathetic. “I know I was supposed to wait my turn and I tried to leave, I _swear_ I did, but then Thor, and then everyone invited me and then Hank put a plate in front of me and I couldn’t handle it and I’m _sorry_.”

The anxiety returned. Tony had no control over it and now there was no doubt that he was assaulting Steve with his emotional state and he cursed himself for not having better control over it. Hammer hated it when he got like this. He learned to push it down years ago so why was he behaving this way now?

“Tony.”

Tony’s heart jumped. Steve had his arms open, his hands shaking as if he was forcibly holding himself back. He was waiting for Tony to take the final steps forward and embrace him, giving him the chance to decide whether he wanted the contact or not. Tony’s eyes stung as the prickling sensation of tears began. He closed the distance and released everything the moment Steve’s arms wrapped around him.

Steve didn’t say anything as they remained there. There weren’t tears trailing down his cheeks, thankfully, but his breath still hitched and his throat hurt. He might have released a sob or two but he didn’t take notice. He was too focused on the scent emanating from the alpha. Strong. Safe. He sighed when Steve rubbed circles on his back.

“Feeling better?” Steve said after a while.

The embarrassment was back. “I’m sorry.”

“No need. You’ve done nothing wrong,” Steve hummed. “You’re still up for taking the walk with me?”

He wanted to, he wanted to so much, but he felt exhausted now. The idea of just staying inside and doing nothing sounded great, but he couldn’t do that to Steve. “I am.”

A moment of pause. Steve pulled back just enough to look at him, searching for the truth. “Are you really? Be honest with me... please.”

Tony swallowed heavily. “I want to…”

“But perhaps not today, then?” Steve finished for him. Tony could only nod and to his surprise Steve smiled. “That’s fine with me. I can wait. Perhaps have a lazy day in and go pester Clint, or even Bucky. Have Natasha and Bruce join us.”

Tony lit up at the thought. “Sounds perfect.”

“Great. Are you all right to head back down?”

Without meaning to he stiffened and because he was still in Steve’s arms he knew the alpha felt it. “How about we stay up here for a while longer?” Steve offered instead and Tony tightened his hold on him gratefully. “Anything I can do to help you relax?”

“Not… anything I can think of, except…”

“Except?”

“No, nothing.”

“If it’s something that can help please don’t hesitate to ask. What is it?”

Tony hid his face against Steve’s chest. “I’d really like a bath.”

“A bath? You didn’t get a - I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before! You’re probably eager to get rid of three days worth of travel and living in shacks. I never offered you a chance yesterday, did I? I’m sorry, I should’ve thought of that first. Here, I’ll get right on that.” Quick as a candle being blown out Steve rushed back inside and disappeared down the hall, leaving Tony to stand uncertain.

He remained there for minutes, maybe even half an hour, until Steve reappeared again and looking out of breath. “It’s ready. Here, I’ll take you down to it.”

Steve ended up taking him further down the hall, pass the rooms and down a hidden set of stairs that led to a bathing room that had a stony floor with a drain and a wooden boxed-tub at the corner already filled with warm water.

“There’s some towels here for you to use, some rags and different oils for you to pick from.” Steve pointed at everything mentioned. “Anything else you need?”

Yes, he did. Embarrassingly so. “Do you have clothes I could borrow? I haven’t gotten a chance to wash what I have yet.”

“I’ll find you something,” Steve promised. “I’ll put them outside the door for you to grab once your done.”

“Thank you, Steve.”

The alpha smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

When the door shut after his departure Tony made sure to lock it and began stripping down. He folded his shirt and pants, gave himself a lookover when his scarred chest and bony hips were exposed and quickly got rid of the last article of clothing.

He paid no second mind to his naked glory and grabbed one of the many pails present. He scooped up some of the water resting in the tub and moved to stand on the section of the floor chipped off in a square shape with the drain in the middle. He touched the water experimentally before tilting the pail over his head and soaking his hair and portions of his body. The floor was crafted in a way that caused the water to slide down to the drain and Tony watched the water take small chunks of dirt and grass that had caught in his hair into it and disappear.

He reached out for one of the many bottles of oil, decided on one that didn’t have much of a scent radiating from it and poured what he thought was enough to get every inch of his hair. He picked another oil, slathered it on one of the rags and his hands and rubbed it on his body. He ran his hands over his shoulders and the rag on his neck, on his arms, on his chest, his belly, his thighs and his legs. He made another rub on those same places to make sure, ran the rag down the small of his back, went further down and rested them over his rear. He sucked in a breath before gathering as much of the oil from his body as he could and ran the rag down and in-between his cheeks.

He made a noise when one of his fingers missed the rag and trailed over his hole, sparking something he knew was not the right time for. He forced the thought away and made quick work of the area, but if he had no control over his emotions for the day he certainly had no control over his body’s reaction now. He sighed at the sight of his member half hard. It was odd how his body was willingly getting aroused from just a simple touch after going so long with forcing himself to rise from Hammer’s handling. His body hadn’t given a reaction before when bathing from his own hands and now suddenly it decided it was rearing to go.

He hesitated. Of course he would. He had stopped touching himself years ago after it became evident the only pleasure he was to receive came from his own hands. It was a sad thought, and one that worsened the feeling of loneliness every time he did it. To save himself from anymore unneeded heartache he stopped altogether and neither him nor his body ever gave it a second thought, until now.

 _Best to get it over with_ , he reasoned and slid his hand down to grasp the base of his member. Commonly small in omegas, but he had no one to compare averages. He gave it three strokes to get it fully erect, then thought better of his stance and kneeled down to prevent any slipping. A few more strokes and he realized the arousal was slowly disappearing. If he didn’t finish this now he was going to find himself frustrated for the rest of the day. A bit desperate he began maneuvering and twisting and stroking, even fondling his small sack, but found himself nowhere near to a climax.

He whined at that and hung his head, glaring at the length in his hand and willing it to finish already. If only he had someone else to touch him, perhaps then his body would agree. He imagined another hand replacing his one, running one single finger over the surface and tracing the visible veins. A second hand not his own rested on his thigh, the thumb rubbing gently over the inner section of it. The first hand stopped tracing and was now wrapped around his length. It wasn’t moving, just holding it. The second hand began rubbing up and down his thigh, slowly shifting inwards and heading further down, bypassing his member, his sack, and tracing over the flaps of his slit and dipping one finger to tease inside.

Tony gasped at the feeling. The hand holding his length began moving now, lazily stroking from the base to the tip and back to the base again. He moaned as quietly as he could when the finger inside pressed in and rubbed slowly. Then moaned louder when both the stroking hand and rubbing finger were joined by a mouth kissing over his chest, a tongue tracing over his many scars. One particular scar directed down to his nipple and the tongue followed after it, leading the hot mouth over the nub and latching on to it to suck.

Teeth grazing over the hardened nub, the hand pressing down on the base of his dick and one finger slowly making its way to tease the tip had Tony shaking in pleasure. He was close now. He could feel it building up and knew his body was eager to release it if he could just get that extra push. Then the mouth detached itself from his chest, the head it was connected to rose and Tony came face to face with Steve.

He threw his head back as his body convulsed. His heart was beating erratically and his arms were shaking. Steve disappeared and in the place of his hands were his own, one still holding his spent lenght and the other disappearing in-between his legs. He pulled his hands away as if burned and pushed his legs to sit. He made a noise of distress, disgusted with himself. He wasn’t even close to intimacy with Steve, let alone have any right to call himself his mate, and yet here he was using the alpha to please his own desires. He was fantasizing about Steve to pleasure himself when Steve was only one floor away, maybe even on the other side of the walls.

Face red with shame and guilt he took deep breaths. How could he talk to the alpha now? What right did he have to when he was so… so _shameless_?

He filled the bucket again and threw the water on himself, scrubbing furiously as if he could somehow wash away what he had just done. Clean, he had to somehow get clean. He could never be clean again, but he had to _try_. He had to.

Tears were evident this time as he submerged himself in the tub. The water reached just below his chest, still exposing the scars for his eyes to see. He scrubbed at them, trying to get rid of the sensation of Steve’s tongue running over the raised surface that his mind had made up. It didn’t help.

He thought maybe a bath would help him feel better, to get rid of the filth traveling had given him. If anything it made it worse.

At least this time if he released more than one or two sobs he was the only one around to hear it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes mine. Tell me what you thought. Hope you enjoyed! Cheers and have a wonderful day. :D
> 
> (Ps. Just as a side note. I usually give status updates about the new chapters on this fic over at my Tumblr so if you don't like being left in the dark for so long go give it a see. I've been giving a lot of sneak peeks lately!)
> 
> 2/7/18: Made some edits regarding the intersex aspect.


	14. Pile Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're having a nice day. I bring more angst and self-worth issues and fluff.

Body long dried with one of the towels, water drained and everything placed exactly where he found them, Tony continued to stand next to the door with his face pressed against the cool surface. His ear was straining, trying to listen for any sound on the other side of the door, but after nearly ten minutes of nothing he had to cave in and accept that nobody was out there. 

He opened the door just a crack to look through and make absolutely sure there really was nobody and weren’t just really quiet and hiding somewhere. The space was empty. Not a figure in sight. The clothes promised by Steve were waiting just outside, one arm reach away. Tony might have acted like a thief making off with a bag of gold, but for him at the moment it pretty much felt like it. He didn’t want to get seen and he didn’t want to leave the door open for longer than necessary from just getting the clothing. The stench of what he had done was still in the air, mixed with water and oil. If Steve’s nose was really as sensitive as the others had said… well, Tony didn’t want him getting a whiff of how brazen he was.  

And just as he was throwing the large shirt over his head he realized the implication of the smell and Steve leaving the clothes out for him. Steve had been required to return with the pile and stand right outside the door. Tony could’ve been touching himself, releasing the stench for the alpha’s sensitive nose to pick up with only a door to obstruct it. 

Tony whined into the shirt, pressing his face against his hands. Steve had to have smelled him,  _ heard  _ him probably, doing this to himself, on the first day of staying in the home of his new pack, and in the  _ bath  _ no less. What was Steve thinking of him now? Would he still want him after knowing how quick Tony was to jump to the intimacy? 

It was just his luck that his body would act out when something good was happening in his life. And smelling Steve’s scent on the clothing was not helping. He felt his dick twitch at the alpha’s musk and Tony willed it away, scrambling to put the shirt on. He was amazed that his body was so willing for another round. One had been a wonder. A second? That was a miracle. He didn’t even think it was possible to go again in the same hour, and yet here he was with his libido wanting another go. 

“No, no, no, no, no,” Tony mumbled to himself, trying to think of other things to discourage his body. He was to return back to the others and the last thing he needed was them smelling his lust right after they had smelled his distress. 

He finds that, after unfolding the pants, it might be a lost cause to fight his body in the end. Steve’s scent nearly engulfs him. It was all he was able to smell. Strong and sharp. Both clothing radiate it, as if having come straight from the source. It took him a while to piece it together, but eventually his mind supplied that Steve must have given him clothes straight from his own drawers. He was going to wear Steve’s shirt and pants and smell like Steve and basically be marked, in a sense, by Steve. 

He might not survive the day after all. If not because of his emotions then because he was going to walk around stiff all day since his traitorous body wasn’t listening to him at all. And then Steve was going to avoid him because of what he had done during his bath. 

Heart beating heavy he quickly finished dressing. He took a moment to watch the loose fabric sway on his figure. The soft color of the blue on the pants and the warm yellow on the shirt made him feel relaxed, and then the smell had to go and stir up something in him. 

He batted over his hips, as if trying to scare his libido away, picked up his balled up night clothing and finally gained the courage to open the door and go through. He quickly slammed it shut in a reflex to keep the smell inside and retraced his steps back to the second floor and to his empty room to add in the ball with the rest of his attire that were in dire need of a wash. Something else to add to the list. 

Another bout of courage and he was back down the stairs and into the common room where it seemed nearly everyone was already sitting all around the collection of furniture. Tony spotted Bruce’s mop of hair on the far edge with Jarvis nesting on the top of the couch and Vision nuzzled against the omega’s thigh. 

On the other end of the same couch Natasha was sitting crossed legged. Sam and Clint took up one end on their own on the couch next to her with Jan and Hank filling the rest. Thor was sprawled across another one, nearly taking up the entire thing. His head rested on Loki’s lap as the serpent lazily played with his golden locks. The small space Thor left behind Bucky inhabited, his head thrown back and his back arched on the furniture’s armrest. And finally he spotted Steve, standing with his back to the pack and his arms crossed. Minus the alpha leader, everyone looked exhausted, as if they had just ran across the land and back and ran again. 

The Avengers he could understand. It didn’t explain why Bruce and the menacing cockatoo and machine were doing it, too, but were they doing it and getting away with it. Tony would’ve said something but then Steve was spinning around and making his way over. 

The instinct to run nearly made Tony return up the stairs. Anything to avoid hearing Steve say he changed his mind and couldn’t take him as a mate because he needed someone respectable and less brazen and broken. Someone who was actually worthy of being the Captain’s mate. 

Out of habit, Tony averted his eyes and lowered them. Better to not look at Steve’s disgust. It would lessen the blow. 

“Tony,” Steve was in front of him now. This was it. “Tony? Could you look -? Would you mind -? Hey…” the alpha’s voice turned softer at each attempt of a question. He was probably trying to figure out how to ask Tony to leave without being rude. Which was why Tony was unprepared for when Steve lowered himself in order to meet his gaze. He blinked in shock, unused to looking down at the alpha. 

Steve smiled. “There you are. I was starting to wonder.” 

Maybe Tony was imagining it, but he could’ve sworn Steve’s pupils were unusually dilated, nearly taking up the entire blue of his eyes. “H-hi.” 

“Hi,” the smile grew wider as Steve straightened. Tony’s eyes followed out of reflex. “How was the - I mean, did you find everything all right?” 

He nodded. “I did. Thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it. Right now we’re basically doing nothing.” The alpha looked to where the pack was gathered. “Everyone already claimed a spot but there’s plenty of room left for us. That’s if you don’t mind sitting next to me.” For a moment Steve actually looked troubled that Tony was going to say no, as if sitting with the alpha was distasteful. It didn’t make any sense. Shouldn't Tony be the one worried that Steve didn’t want him anywhere near his presence? 

“I don’t mind,” Tony said a bit awed. Steve wasn’t asking him to leave and wasn’t stating he didn’t want to take Tony as a mate anymore.

“Come on, then. The others are ahead of us on doing nothing.” Steve lead him over, passing in front of all the lazy Avengers in order to reach the empty small couch. Along the way there were two things Tony noticed from his spot behind Steve. One was the way Steve was walking. He appeared stiff, almost careful with how he placed each step. The other were the many different looks the others were giving their alpha leader. They were all grinning and smirking, sharing knowledge Tony had no idea about, and while not knowing something shared between pack usually made Tony feel inadequate, in this case he was nothing but curious as to why they were taunting Steve. 

In a growing habit he looked to Bruce for an answer. The other omega had been present, surely he knew what was going on. But all Bruce did was shrug at him, grin and point to his nose. That didn’t answer anything. 

Jarvis flew over to Tony when he reached the couch and nestled himself on the top of it, just behind where Tony stood. Vision decided to remain by Bruce. Tony got comfortable on the soft padding and kept his legs firm on the ground in good manner. He watched curiously as Steve sat himself carefully, mindful not to disturb something. Confusion was added when Bucky threw him a cushion and Steve quickly tucked it over his lap. The others snickered from the action. 

“Is something the matter?” Tony said.

For some reason that got everyone snickering even louder. Steve sent them all glares and Tony took notice how strained his voice sounded. “Nothing. I’m just a little, uh, little excited… to be back home?” 

Tony frowned. Was he asking or telling him? Steve didn’t even look sure about what he said. 

Bucky snorted. “You could say he’s also very excited to have you here, too. Aren’t ya, Steve?” 

There was visible pink on Steve’s cheeks. “Shut up.” 

“Come over here and make me. What’s the matter, can’t stand?” 

“Thor, I’ll give you a sweet if you kick Bucky off.” 

Thor grinned and was ready to accept when -

“I’ll give you two if you don’t,” Bucky counter offered. 

“Three,” Steve quickly said. 

“Five. Take it or leave it.” 

“Seven,” Steve said with a face that meant business. Clint and Sam whistled at that. Everyone held their breath, even Tony. Seven sweets? What Tony would do in order to have seven sweets for himself. 

Bucky glared at Steve, contemplating it. He was being outdone and everyone knew it. Thor readied his leg, waiting for a final offer. “What say you, James?” 

“I say surrender. Steve wins this time. We’ll settle it properly when Steve can walk again.” 

From the way Steve’s cheeks turned pinker it seemed Bucky had gotten the last word. “Kick him.” 

And Thor did. The feline sneaked his foot in-between Bucky’s back and the couch and pushed forward, sliding the canine off. It happened in seconds, but in those seconds Bucky had managed to play it off as a dramatic death of a wounded warrior. He landed on his side, groaned, clutched his chest and just lied there. 

“You are now in my debt, Steven.” 

“I’ll get you your sweets when we visit town.” 

“That is acceptable.” 

“Best not forget, Captain,” Loki said, holding one golden strand. “We are all aware of Thor’s insatiable appetite of sweets and he will not leave you alone. No matter your desires for privacy.” 

Everyone except for the newcomers hummed in agreement. Steve apparently accepted his fate. “First thing I’ll get when we visit town.” 

“How about tomorrow?” Jan suggested. “We could all do some trading. I’m in dire need of new cloth. Tell me, Tony, do you prefer crimson or daffodil?” 

The question caught him off guard. Tony near stuttered his response. “Crimson…?” 

“Crimson… I can work with that. Have daffodil decorate the edges. Gold buttons. I can see it now.”

“May I suggest onyx boots?” Clint said with a wave. 

“Perfect! Finally, new blood for me to work with.” 

While Tony was not used to receiving gifts it didn’t mean he was oblivious when someone hinted on it, especially when they were so open about it like Jan. He didn’t understand why she was doing it. “You don’t have to.” 

“What if I want to?” Jan countered, reminding Tony of the first time they spent time together near the river when she offered to find wood. 

Next to him Steve pressed his thigh with his own, getting his attention. “Better to just let her do what she wants. She’s going to do it anyway and expect you to accept it.” 

Tony tried to ignore the warmth of the contact. It didn’t work. “Right, all right. I just -”  _ want to say not to waste your time if you have other better things to do _ . 

“Great. Are you a fan of long coats or short coats?” 

Tony was unsure if he should answer. Which option was easiest? He didn’t want to give her more unnecessary work seeing as she was adamant on making it. He felt his anxiety bubble alive from being put on the spot, waiting for him to answer, and the longer he took to do so the more annoyed they were going to be with him. “S-short?” 

A hand landed over his own, successfully distracting him. Steve gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed gently. “I heard short coats are starting to get in demand.”

Tony found his anxiety melting slowly. “Yeah?” 

“You’ve got good taste going. Some very talented designers are making them very stylish. Think you’re up for that, Jan?” 

He felt heat rise in his cheeks and a shiver run down his spine from the praise. A grip in his chest loosening. 

Jan cracked her knuckles. “I’m more than up for it. I will make you glow, Tony.  _ Glow _ . Everyone will stop to look at you.” 

While it was meant to be encouraging Tony couldn’t help but snort at the idea. Everyone stopping to look at  _ him _ ? Not likely. Perhaps if he was walking next to Steve, or anyone in the pack, really. They would stop to stare at them and Tony would just be someone in the way of the breathtaking sights. Perhaps she meant stop to stare at her outfit? “I’m sure whatever you make will have everyone stop to look at it. I might not give it justice wearing it, though, but I’ll try my best.” 

The smile on her face disappeared and for a moment Tony thought he had insulted her or her work. He hadn’t meant to! 

“You know what?” Jan held her chin in thought. “We’re going to have to work on that.” 

Tony blinked, confused. “Work on what?” 

“One thing I always make sure to tell these tasteless heathens,” Jan gestured to everyone in the room. “Is that you are what shines, not the clothing. Your clothes compliment you, they don’t outshine you, and when others stop to have a look it’s because they’re watching you glow. Clothes work for you, not the other way around.” She waved a finger at him, as if scolding him for thinking any other way. 

Tony felt exactly like a child getting a talking to for saying something wrong. It was odd, to be sure. “I d-didn’t know?” 

“We’re going trading tomorrow. We’re marching that town and I’m going to give you serious lessons and you’re going to learn to strut your stuff. Loki, you’re helping.” 

Loki scowled, receiving a lethal stare from Jan in return. He gave in. “Very well. Prepare yourself, Anthony. I am not a patient serpent.” 

“Don’t listen to him. Promise him something sour and sweet to eat and he’ll wait all day and night. I have my ways,” Jan winked. 

Tony could only nod, mouth hanging slightly open. 

“Tomorrow, then. We’re all going trading tomorrow.” 

Nearly everyone groaned. A few stragglers were brave enough to accept their apparent fate and made no show. Bucky already looked like a dying man and now had the reason for it, stretching out on the floor, defeated. He didn’t look to be getting up any time soon. 

“You heard her, everyone,” Steve said. “Up bright and early so we can get a head start for all the goods. Afterwards, do you want to take our walk?” He turned to Tony on the last part. 

As soon as Steve finished the question everyone’s gazes landed on him like hunters spotting prey. Even Bucky looked at him, albeit upside down. 

“What’s this? Are you both taking a stroll around the area? Taking him to the lake?” Clint said with suggestive eyebrow waggling. 

“A beautiful moon lit walk? Show him the sparkly stars and tell him how beautiful they are while looking at him?” Bucky added with a wink. 

Steve growled at the pair, gripping the cushion on his lap as if ready to chuck it at them, but thought better of it. The others decided he required aid. Sam pushed a squawking Clint off the furniture with a loud ‘Shh.’ Clint flailed his arms and legs during the small fall and clutched his chest when he landed on the floor. At the same time Natasha grabbed one of the cushions she was using and threw it with precise aim at Bucky, hitting him square on his face and making him yip in shock. Then the redheaded alpha gestured for Steve to continue. 

Steve huffed and glared at them all but nonetheless asked Tony, “How about it?” He shot them all a hard gaze, daring them to say anything. 

Tony had already said yes to the walk but didn’t understand why Steve was asking him again. When he follow Steve’s gaze after the alpha’s stern look he was met with Jan, Hank and Sam nodding and gesturing for him to say yes. Then they proceeded to give air kisses and swoon. Steve growled at them for it, but they didn’t seem to care for the empty threat. 

All their interactions and behavior, while good natured and fun to look at, reminded Tony of how close the pack were to each other and how long the path for him to even reach that point with any of them was. It also reminded him of how  _ young  _ they looked, and how young they probably were, and if they were young then naturally Steve had to be young as well and the same question as to  _ why  _ Steve was even looking his way appeared in Tony’s head. Steve could probably have anyone, why was he wasting his time with Tony?

“Tony?” 

Tony blinked, not realizing that Steve was trying to get his attention. “Hm? Sorry, lost in thought.” 

The alpha had his lips thinned, something going through his head. “Just wanted to know your answer. Unless you want to take the walk on another day?” 

Why did Steve want him? “Tomorrow sounds great.” 

“You look tired, do you want to go back to sleep?” 

He felt it. The depressing thoughts plus his bathroom activity catching up with him drained whatever energy he had. “I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“I am, really.” 

Steve didn’t look convinced but he dropped it thankfully. Tony didn’t want to give him, or any of them, the idea of not wanting to spend time together. He didn’t want to appear as if he was superior in any sense and far too great for their presence. Running out once could be excuse, but doing so twice in the same day? That was a bad impression on the first day of officially taking residence in the pack’s home. 

Even though he knew he felt tired and reassured Steve he was fine, it seemed he didn’t know the extent of it. The pack at one point began just having lazy conversation, talking about future plans, excited for the next day and the possibility of seeing certain residents, Clint trying to convince Sam he wanted a pet rabbit, Natasha threatening to eat said rabbit if it so much as set paw in the mansion, everyone reassuring Jarvis that they wouldn’t eat him when he voiced his concern, Clint trying to bribe Jarvis to use his shoulder again, after that Tony stopped listening because his eyes decided to close shut and he fell asleep. 

At one point during his sleep he roused enough to notice his upper body leaning against something that wasn’t an armrest and his head was resting on what could only be a shoulder. Subconsciously he knew what he was doing was a huge ‘no-no.’ The contact was unnecessary and served no purpose besides being an annoyance to the person he was using as a bed. 

He should’ve woken up, should’ve pushed himself away, but his body felt sluggish and his brain wanted more sleep and he was warm and comfortable. The person smelled good, really good. He wanted to bury himself in the smell, lick up every inch the smell radiated from, bury his nose and inhale it so it reached his very core. He might have moved to do just that and pressed his nose against a spot that had the smell the strongest. The person he was laying against shifted shortly after and he felt something wrap around his shoulders and press him closer. An arm. Couldn’t be anything else. 

“Is this all right?” A voice asked. 

Tony didn’t know if the question was directed at him, but even if it was he couldn’t answer. 

“That is acceptable, Captain Rogers.” 

The last voice sounded familiar. He couldn’t place his finger on it. Sounded like someone he listened to every day, by choice or not, and someone important, too, but the embrace was everything he didn’t know he had wanted on that moment and the urge to curl up in it was a strong one. He wanted to go back to sleep. 

And he did because he woke up again, managing to actually open his eyes, and was now lying down horizontally, his head on a pillow and someone’s hand running through his hair. While freshly awake from a nap it only took his mind seconds to piece together that he was lying on someone, the pillow he had his head on had to be the pillow Steve had placed on his lap, meaning he was lying on Steve’s lap, and the hand running through his hair could only come from the very same person. 

“Awake already?” A voice that was undeniably Steve’s said. 

Tony hunched his shoulders. The hand playing with his strands slowly melting the stiffness away. It gave him mixed feelings of wanting to push himself off and give Steve his space or just lie there and nearly purr from the sensation like a feline. 

He gave in to the first choice, squashing down the disappointment of the hands stopping. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.” 

“I don’t mind.”

Tony sat up straight and finally took notice of his surroundings. The couches were empty of bodies except for one that still had Bruce and Natasha sitting on it and in closer proximity than before, both of them awake. Everyone else was on the floor, piled together over gathered blankets and pillows that someone must have brought from somewhere. A pack pile, Tony’s mind supplied the moment he saw it. From the spot where Bucky had fallen the pile started, taking up the space all the way to where Clint had been kicked off the furniture. Sam had Clint wrapped from the back. Hank was facing Clint and had Jan using his side as a pillow while she lied horizontal to him. Thor was sprawl next to her with Loki using his chest to rest his legs on. Then there was Bucky at the end covered with enough pillows to disappear under them. Only reason why Tony spotted him was the lone single arm and hair sticking out from the burial. 

They were all asleep, or at least resting their eyes, and looked comfortable together. Tony looked longingly at them, wanting to be a part of it but knowing he had no right yet. He settled himself again on the couch only to push forward when Vision decided right then and there was the perfect time to roll over and release a high pitch of excitement. Tony quickly shushed him, not wanting to disturb the sleeping pack. Vision lowered his voice to a reasonable volume and began gesturing back and forth from Tony to the pile. 

The motion was so simple to distinguish that Tony didn’t doubt Steve figured out Vision wanted him to join with the rest. It came to no surprise to Tony when Steve asked if he wanted to go over to the pile. And while Tony wanted nothing more than to say yes and be a part of something, he didn’t want to make Steve feel obligated to offer it from a sense of politeness. 

“No, I’m fine right here.” The words felt heavy on his tongue and quickly added a “Thank you, though,” when Steve’s face fell from the answer. He hadn’t meant to insult the alpha, but no matter what he said or decided it seemed he could never win. And the statement couldn’t be more accurate when Vision decided he didn’t like his response and began bumping against his shin, which,  _ ow _ , that hurt. 

“You might want to take Vision’s advice if you want to keep your leg, Tony,” Bruce said, eyeing them both.

Tony pushed Vision gently to gain space and discourage the little machine. “Vision, stop.” 

Vision didn’t, if anything he got  more insistent, the volume increasing every passing second Tony didn’t make a move to join the pile. “ _ Vision _ .” He finally snapped, hating himself for it but knowing it was currently necessary. 

Vision lowered his head, whining sadly, and the sight broke his heart. He had done that. He had scolded Vision for trying to encourage him. “Vision… I’m sorry.” 

“How about we all go together?” Steve offered. “We can pile on the side if you want room and we can kick and punch anyone who tries to take it. Will you be joining us, Bruce? Nat?” 

Bruce thought the question over, coming to a decision after shooting Tony a quick glance. “If you don’t mind me there, sure.” 

Natasha stood and offered her hand. “Come.” 

Bruce accepted it with a timid smile and rose to join her. They ended up taking the free spot next to Jan, Natasha lying with her back to Jan so Bruce could have access to the free space and have room for anyone to join him. After he lied down facing Nat he looked back to Tony expectantly. 

Steve mimicked Natasha and stood with an offered hand to Tony. Tony hesitated for a second, grasped it, gave Vision an encouraging nudge to follow and felt Jarvis land on his shoulder. He took up the open spot next to Bruce and had their backs pressing together. Vision rolled over to his stomach and tucked himself in while Jarvis squeezed himself in the little space provided between Vision and Tony. 

Steve didn’t lie down right away. He leaned over to collected some of the many pillows Bucky had claimed for himself and spread them around Tony and Bruce. After he was satisfied with the arrangement he lied down facing Tony, enclosing the two omegas in-between the two alphas.

For a moment Steve openly stared at Tony. The way his eyes were shining with fondness had Tony looking at the blanket he lied on, flushing a bit. He dared to look back again and if possible the eyes were shinier than before, a mix of different emotions all put together and aimed at him. He still didn’t understand what he had done in order to receive that stare, but damn was Steve doing it and making him turn bashful.

Steve showed his palm for Tony, waiting for him to make the next move. Tony reached out for it, the eyes full of fondness making it really easy to intertwine his fingers. The alpha gave his knuckles a kiss and the smile that followed after should not have been put together with those eyes. Tony was unable to resist smiling back. 

A loud snore from someone in the pile might have ruined the moment, but Tony found it just made it better. He was surrounded by pack and, perhaps for the first time in so long, someone was looking at him with affection and meant it. 

Moments like these he was starting to look forward to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed and this put a smile on your face! Let me know what you thought. 
> 
> And just something I'm thinking about and if you want to endulge me. Do you have a song that matches with Tony or his situation or even the Avengers for here? I'm thinking about a playlist, but I don't have many songs to go with this fic.  
> Who wants to volunteer their songs? 
> 
> All of you have a great day!
> 
> (Psssst, check out my other fic with Winter Soldier!Tony. I finally finished it! [I Started a Joke](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4545966))


	15. The Town of Hattan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damage and issues and progress, oh my!

“How do I look?” Tony asked for the ninth time in a row. His newly washed clothes he found time to do the day before now framing his figure.

“Exceptional, Sir,” Jarvis said without even looking at him, probably annoyed from having repeated the same answer over and over. Vision had stopped whistling in agreement and instead rocked back and forth in impatience.

“Jarvis,” Tony nearly whined. This was his first trip to town and he didn’t want to embarrass the Avengers more than he already did.

“I’m afraid I’m unsure of what to tell you, Sir. The fabric you have chosen together makes you aesthetically pleasing. Had I been of a similar race as your own I would, as Captain Rogers has been trying to initiate, mate you.”

“Jarvis!” Tony screeched, sounding as every bit scandalized as he felt. The little bird he had raised since he was hatched didn’t just say that!

“Have I made my point clear?”

“I didn’t just hear that. I did not just hear that. My baby bird did not just remark on that.”

“I’m twenty-four years old, Sir. I am hardly considered an infant.”

“No, no, no, you’re still three. You shouldn’t know these things.”

“Be reasonable.”

Tony paced again, making his clothing swing with his movement. While the words might have given him a bit of a shock, it didn’t keep him distracted for long. The day’s planned journey swirling in his head and all the possible outcomes kept his mind busy. Something that was an annoyance for the cockatoo and little machine as they were bombarded by the same question from him over and over again.

He gave another turn of the room, paused in front of the bed where Jarvis and Vision were waiting and crossed his arms self-consciously. At that moment it was all he could notice. His own presence about to be introduced to a town with the Avengers. “Are you sure?”

He didn’t flinch when he felt Jarvis land on his shoulder. “Sir, please, believe us when we say you appear phenomenal. Captain Rogers will not be able to keep his eyes away. Neither will the residents.”

Tony made a small noise. “Jarvis.”

Vision rolled back and forth, his head kept in place to continuously look at him. The beeps he created were high, long and encouraging and his speech lasted for ten seconds. Tony gave him a grateful smile for it, already feeling better. “Thank you, Vision.”

The machine whistled a ‘you’re welcome’ before asking to be picked up. Tony cradled him under his arm, using his hip to hold him still and made for the door, picking up his pack with the few coins he still had inside along the way. He didn’t know if the others were already awake or what time they were supposed to be ready to head out, but it was better to be safe than sorry and head down and wait. Better he be the one to wait instead of keeping his new pack waiting on him. Even if the panic from the previous day haunted him a little. Just the thought of joining the others and possibly experience another distressing scene made him nervous.

When he opened the door he found an unexpected but delightful surprise in the form of Bruce standing just outside and wearing a decent shirt with dirt-less pants and brown boots. The other omega turned when he heard the noise from the door moving. “Tony, good morning.”

“Good morning, Brucie. What are you doing standing there?”

Bruce gave him a lopsided smile. “Waiting for you. Thought we could maybe head down together for breakfast. Sounds like most of them are down there already.”

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Tony walked through and closed his door. “You should’ve gone down and gotten a plate already.”

“I wanted to wait,” the other omega shrugged. “Didn’t mind it. Come on, I think breakfast is done cooking and they’re about to eat.”

While Tony felt horrible for having made Bruce wait and keeping him from the food, he was extremely grateful that he wasn’t heading down to the others alone. The nervousness lessened considerably with the other omega by his side. Nothing compared to the previous morning.

They walked down the stairs and made their way to the kitchen room without missing a beat. Bruce had been right about most of the pack already being present. The only ones still missing were Steve, Bucky and Natasha.

Unlike the previous morning this time they were all dressed for travel. They weren’t wearing their heavy armor that Tony and Bruce had seen on their trip to the mansion. Instead they were wearing a lighter set made of leather and steel that gave them more mobility and looked more comfortable compared the other set. They were also all already eating and munching away.

“There you both are,” Sam said from his spot in front of the arranged food. He appeared to have cooked again. “Good morning.”

Simultaneously, the ones who openly showed expressions smiled and waved at them in a welcoming manner. Jan and Thor patted the empty seats next to them cheerfully.

“Come on and join us already. Got an exciting day ahead of us. You’re going to need all your energy, Tony, so you better eat up because when I’m done with you your thighs are going to be on fire,” Jan patted the seat a few more times.

“Aye, come and join us for this early feast. Acquire as much sustenance as you are able for our journey ahead.”

Sam appeared in front of them before they could take a step forward to the empty seats. Two plates filled with food in his hands. “What they mean to say is eat as much as you want, take your time and don’t worry, we’re just going to trade, not go across the land.”

The two omegas accepted the plates with a quick ‘thank you’ and were ushered to their seats by Sam. Everyone looked away the moment they sat down, making Tony breathe out in relief. It wasn’t as overwhelming this time around compared to the day before. With everyone already here and eating their share and with Bruce at his side Tony was able to feel relaxed and he happily chewed his delicious food. He accepted the cup of water handed to him from Jan thankfully and continued munching away.

He failed to notice everyone giving him and Bruce looks of contentment.

By the time the three missing pack-mates made an appearance everyone had mostly finished their plates. Some still had a few bites left to chew, others had nothing and were just waiting for the rest to catch up. Steve, Bucky and Natasha were also wearing light armor and looked ready to order everyone to get going. Tony moved to get up, mentally giving his plate that he had yet to finish an apology and cursing himself for being a slow eater.

He stopped short from putting his foot down when Jan grabbed his arm gently. “We aren’t leaving yet. Go ahead and finish up.”

And to prove her point Steve and Natasha grabbed empty plates and began adding to it. Bucky stood with his arms crossed and pointedly stared at Sam. “What, you didn’t fix us up a plate?”

Sam returned the pointed stare, drier than the former. “You got two arms and legs that aren’t broken. Fix your own plate.”

Tony looked away from the exchange, focusing on his food again and snorting when Jarvis sneaked another berry from his plate. He made a barrier with his arm and shooed the cockatoo away when he made another move to snatch another berry.

To his side he heard a chair get placed and Steve made himself comfortable on it, setting his plate down and smiling. “Good morning, Tony.” Besides him Natasha pushed a chair to sit next to Bruce. Bucky went around and made a spot for himself between Sam and Hank.

Tony took in his messy golden hair and bright eyes and wondered how someone could look so vibrant. Then he wondered, yet again, what Steve saw in him. “Good morning, Steve.”

“Are you looking forward to the day? Hattan has a large variety of shops, vendors and stands. Some of them are questionable and overpriced, but most of them are honest.”

“Just stick close to any of us,” Clint said, cheeks stuffed with food. “We’ll tell you which business is decent and which is not. We can even take you to the stall with the best glazed bread around. Trust me, it’s unlike anything you’ve eaten before.”

Tony felt his heart sink. He had enough coin to get a new set of clothing. If he managed it correctly perhaps even two sets. Anything else he couldn’t afford it. Not yet until he managed to find a way to earn coin for himself. No matter how tempting the glazed bread was he couldn’t do it. “They sound great, but maybe not today,” he pride himself for managing to keep his disappointment from leaking in his voice.

“You sure? I’m telling you they’re really something. Not even Bucky can figure out how they make them or get something close to it.”

Bucky grunted, unable to respond with his mouth full of food.

“I’m sure. Another time, perhaps.”

They accepted the answer, even though most of them frowning signalled they wanted to say more of the matter. Small conversation continued as the three canine alphas finished their food. Through most of it Steve took the time to bump his elbow against Tony’s gently and in retaliation after the fourth bump Tony couldn’t resist kicking him softly. Steve changed from elbows to legs and continued kicking. At one point he hooked their feet together and swinged them lazily. Tony’s chest fluttered at that. He didn’t know if anyone noticed them doing it, seeing as he was looking at his plate as if it was the most interesting thing in the world and Steve sat straight and showed nothing, but he doubted they didn’t have an idea of it. They were the Avengers after all. Great warriors and incredible hunters. They had to have sharp eyes.

Eventually everyone finished and as soon as the last person ate their last bite Steve stood and ordered for them to prepare for their trip. Everyone made their way out of the kitchen and to their goals, leaving Tony and Bruce to stand awkwardly in the common room with Hank and Sam. The beta pair were humming contently, swaying back and forth a few times before deciding they might as well get a head start.

“We’ll wait for them outside,” Sam steered them towards the door. “They have everything set up and are just getting their stuff for the walk. At least I think they are. Otherwise we’ll just head on without them.”

“Cart’s ready over there,” Hank pointed at the simple, flat and shining wooden cart with four wheels, walls blocking in all the sides except for the front and two handles that lacked the mount meant to pull it, slanting slightly.

The sight of the cart made Tony blink. How much were they going to obtain for them to need a cart? Then again, how far away was the town? He was to carry a set of clothing and if the walk was a long one he’d end up getting tired of holding his purchase. The cart was probably a good idea.

The betas walked over to the cart and Sam jumped to sit on it. Hank chose to leaned against it, head back to look at the sky. Not knowing what to do Tony and Bruce joined them, Tony lifting Vision on the cart when the little machine demanded to be placed on it and together the four waited patiently for the rest of the pack.

Eventually they made their appearance, some of them evidently carrying what they went back to get. Clint had his longbow placed over his shoulder, the string running down his back, while he had his arrows strapped on his belt. In his hand he had a pistol that he threw to Sam when he got closer. Jan had two small pistols on her belt and had a bag hanging by his side with the strap going across her chest and down her hip. Similarly, Natasha had a belt running down the same angle but instead of holding a bag in place it provided sheaths for a bunch of knives. Bucky now had a rifle strapped on his back and Loki had a spear… no, not a spear, something that looked like a spear but clearly didn’t hold the same purpose. Tony’s hands suddenly got an itch to grab and to study because what Loki was holding was a staff.

Staff meaning magical quality and magical quality meaning that Loki was capable of wielding and manipulating it. That was… that was big news for Tony. He wasn’t the only one with the magical quality. He wasn’t… wasn’t needed for his special skills. It was both good and bad. Good because he didn’t have to reveal any of it to the pack. They didn’t have to force him to. Bad because he literally had nothing to give to the pack now. The last chip he could’ve used in order to remain wasn’t needed. That aspect was covered and they didn’t require another magic wielder. He was useless. He had nothing to give to the pack.

The staff moved. He hadn’t realized his eyes were locked on the weapon until Loki held it up in an angle that caused Tony’s gaze to meet his. The serpent raised an eyebrow questionably and with a smirk. “Have you spotted something to enjoy, Dear Anthony?”

Ashamed at being caught gawking Tony averted his eyes, apology ready on his lips, but Loki held them back. “I hold no surprise. This weapon is capable of many wonders and has proven itself useful on many occasions. However, it is nothing without its wielder. To anyone else it is simply a staff.”

“He speaks truth,” Thor nodded. “To many that weapon is nothing but a hold. To Loki it is a powerful means for his sorcery.”

“We didn't see you have a staff when we first met,” Bruce said, studying the mentioned weapon.

For some reason that caused the serpent shifter to laugh. “The last squabble we faced hadn't sounded challenging when first described. I thought it best to give them a fighting chance by leaving it behind.”

“Gave them too much of a fighting chance if you ask me. Broke Steve’s shield clean in half,” Sam interjected, scrunching his face from the memory he had stated.

Tony’s eyes trailed to the alpha named, giving Steve’s smile a brief glance before his gaze landed on a round shield held on his back by a strap circling his right arm. That hadn’t been there either upon their first meeting. What or who had the Avengers fought against before they ran into Tony and Bruce that broke Steve’s shield? And why hadn’t Tony thought about the shield before? The Captain of the Avengers was known for always traveling with a shield. Didn’t matter if they traveled for a fight or were out in search of an individual that required a much needed rescue. Papers always wrote of the Captain with his shield.

Steve walked over to the cart. “Might have broken my shield in half but at least it lets me know it did its job. Now it’s time to break in this one.”

“Hopefully not literally. It’s barely the first day.”

Steve grinned, face far too shiny for this hour of the day. “We’ll see.” With one quick glance aimed at Tony and one gentle touch that brushed his fingers on Tony’s lower back he walked to the front of the cart and gestured to the empty space in-between the handles. “Get it going, Loki, and we’ll be on our way.”

The serpent shifter sent him a dry look. “Your manners are simply outstanding, dear Captain.” With a wave of his hand over the sharp end of the staff Loki mumbled something and both the staff and his hand began to glow a faint green. Tony watched in fascination. He’d seen a few magic users before with Hammer’s pack, the numbers so low that he could could count every encounter with his hands, but every single one of them a unique experience. Each one manifested a color distinctive to them, different shades and different intensity. All of the colors somehow expressing the user perfectly, as if matching their very soul.

The particular high and intense shade of green Loki was controlling was fitting. A black snake emitting the hue of grass and healthy leaves. It was almost ominous and added to Loki’s already indifferent personality, and now Tony didn’t know if he was going to survive spending the day with kind and welcoming Jan and offhanded and solemn Loki.

Loki lifted the staff high in the air and striked to the direction of the cart. The wood gave a creak and shuddered as the handles straightened out and remained perfectly horizontal to the ground. Watching the entire movement Tony could’ve sworn the wheels of the cart lost tension, lost the pressure the cart placed on them, as if somehow it had gotten lighter. Sam going higher along with it only confirmed his study.

“Done,” Loki huffed at the mundane task. “Anything else you wish of me, Captain? Perhaps polish your shield? Your boots?”

Steve waved his offers away. “No, thank you. I’ve got those covered already. Nice of you to offer, though. Sam, since you’re busy keeping a watchful eye on the cart you have pulling duty.”

The beta named groaned. “Come on, don’t do this to me. I’m your favorite, remember?”

Steve had begun walking, half of the pack following after him. Bucky came over to Sam to clap him on his shoulder in sympathy, but his words were anything but, “Pretty sure you never had the title of favorite from him. Growing up with that idiot entitles me as automatically being his favorite -”

“I heard that, Bucky!”

“- but you and I both know that his current favorite is Tony over there. Can’t argue your way out of this one.”

Tony ignored the fluttering happening in his chest and walked alongside Bruce after the pack. Out of curiosity he kept his eyes on Sam, wondering how exactly he was going to do his ‘pulling duty’ and felt his eyes widened when Sam casually grasped one of the handles of the cart with just one hand and pulled it along with him. His arm didn’t look to be exerting much force and the cart moved steadily as if weightless, as if it was nothing.

That must have been what Loki had been casting. Make it so the cart could be easily pulled.

“Incredible,” Bruce spoke his thoughts.

The walk lasted nearly thirty minutes. They had walked back to the road and followed said road east. At one point during the walk a small river began trailing next to the road, the soothing sound of running water and the rustling of trees making the trip enjoyable. On many occasions during the walk Tony had closed his eyes and just appreciated the noises, Vision adding to it by releasing a beep here and there every time he caught sight of something interesting or if he jumped when the cart wheeled over a bump on the road. On those same occasions, when he opened his eyes again, he would catch Steve looking back to him, always giving him a fond smile. Tony returned them with faint pink on his cheeks.

As they got closer his excitement grew with every step. Eventually buildings began forming in the distance and Tony stared in awe at the sight that was the town of Hattan. Homes that were made of wood and stone followed the road, starting at the border of the town and increasing in numbers the further they went in. The buildings grew taller and closer, stacking upwards towards the center.

Tony took in every detail of every structure and every color and every sight. In doing so he failed to notice the pack slowing down to a stop and nearly collided with Thor’s back. Bruce holding him still was the only reason it didn’t happen. Everyone was facing the same direction, including Bruce. Their gazes were aimed at Hank, who was hunched over slightly and had his arm pressed against his chest, shaking. Jan was nearby with her hand on his shoulder for support, but even Tony could see she was a bit shaken herself as well.

The distressing smell they both released only proved it true.

“What happened?” Tony said as low as he could, hoping Thor was the only one to hear. He didn’t want to appear rude.

“I am afraid it is not my story to tell,” Thor looked grim. “This is a fear placed upon them a time ago. Mayhaps one day they will speak about it, when they feel it proper time. For now it is best to allow them to heal. Avoid bringing said subject as best as you can.”

Tony understood a thing or two about fear. He was aware of it. He wouldn’t want the others to ask him questions he didn’t want to answer either. “I won’t say a word, but will they be all right?”

Thor had a sad smile. “Worry not, my friend. They are strong canines with golden hearts, but even a warrior will fall from reopened scars.”

Tony took in the words, wondering what could have happened to the two betas for Hank to react in such a way all of a sudden. What had they seen or heard? No one was acting as if danger was nearby, so it couldn’t have been an attack. Their surroundings perhaps? But Thor had said reopened scars, so Hank must have seen something that reminding him of a horrible memory.

A whine threatened to escape from his throat. It seemed Tony wasn’t the only one damaged. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad.

It took some time for Hank to calm down and for the stench of anguish to lessen. The beta was distant, quiet, had his eyes downcast and followed after Jan without purpose. Jan herself was trying hard to appear strong and unaffected, but her eyes still showed unspoken fear.

“We’re fine,” she said, answering the question hovering over them. “It seems like one of those days.”

Loki tapped the ground with his staff, gaining their attention. “Then perhaps we require the day to be cut shortly. The quicker we obtain our merchandize the better.”

Everyone nodded their heads, including Jan. “If you don’t mind.”

For a moment Tony feared for Jan. To freely speak about her and Hank’s needs and ask the pack to trade in their planned day in order to get them back safely home, he almost couldn’t believe it. If Tony had so much as breathed a discomfort that directly affected Hammer’s day the alpha would have berated him and put him down for it. But none of the Avengers did so. No, not a single one looked ready to lash out and scold Jan for ruining the day.

“I’m sorry,” Hank mumbled. “I was fine all morning. I don’t know why…”

“We understand, Hank,” Steve reassured, speaking for them all. “Everyone get what you need and meet up at May’s corner. We’ll round up everything on the cart and head home.”

With the orders out they began moving again, heading deeper in town where residents were joining the day and walking around. Upon the sight of the Avengers each single one of them stopped to look. Alphas, betas and omegas alike and of any age gawked and waved and cheered, shouting hellos in every volume available. Some of them dared to get closer for a better look and gave each and every one of them a glance and a large grin up until they spotted Tony and Bruce. Their faces quickly changed to confusion from not having known the Avengers had included two new members.

Tony hunched his shoulders when they all began chatting eagerly to each other and shooting him and Bruce looks. Instinctively he searched for Vision on the cart to make sure his little machine was fine. Jarvis huddled closer, signalling he was safe as well.

Tony understood why the crowd was telling tales, hell, he’d be doing it, too if he were honest. Seeing a famous pack walk across town and spotting two new additions among them, especially when those additions were two old omegas? He would be openly staring at them, as well. Didn’t make the situation any better seing as Bruce and him were the ones subjected to it.

“Are those two…?”

“Who are they?”

“Since when did they join?”

“Why is there a bird on his shoulder?”

“I didn’t know the Avengers were recruiting. Why didn’t they say?”

“They never said anything about looking for new pack mates! I don’t even recognize those two.”

“Could they be den omegas? That would explain why they’re with them.”

“I think they are! They are den omegas.”

“Does this mean they’re settling now? They looking for mates?”

With every conversation he heard Tony felt himself sink further. He knew they were stating things without having all the information, but a den omega isn’t far off from the truth. Steve recruited them because he had an interest in Tony while Natasha had one with Bruce. They weren’t added to fight. They were just added to remain behind and keep a watchful eye on things while the pack went off to save the day and return to a cozy home. Not that different from a simple den omega, except den omegas don’t usually get courted by leaders and seconds or thirds in command. They were only there as helpers.

What exactly were Tony and Bruce? Den omegas with the privilege of having the leader’s and third in command’s interests? Were they temporary until they found their true mates? Were they to remain den omegas after that happened?

Similarly to him, Bruce was also hunching, rubbing his hands together nervously and avoiding eye contact with any of the gossiping residents. Like before in the shacks they were all giving him wary stares, probably sensing something dangerous but unable to identify why. Tony wondered how Bruce had learned to live with it.

“Mommy, why are omegas with the Avengers?”

A little girl, no older than five and surrounded by adults openly talking about their title as omegas, was pointing at them. Awe and curiosity in her eyes. Besides her stood a woman that radiated alpha and held her chin high. “They’re just there to care for the pack, sweetheart. They watch over the den.”

“Oh,” the little girl was disappointed. “They’re not going to fight?”

“No, only the strong fight. They’ll end up hurting themselves if they do.”

A male beta standing nearby and listening in to their conversation cut in. “That one omega don’t even look like he _can_ fight. Probably break a bone lifting something. The Avengers felt sorry for them both.”

It was like an arrow right through Tony’s heart. He had a pretty good idea which omega the beta was referring to. Everyone was wary of Bruce, so perhaps he had something to give to the Avengers, but Tony? He was wearing clothing that framed loosely on him, had a sharp face that made it obvious he wasn’t exactly healthy, didn’t have any kind of aura that made him dangerous like Bruce, and frankly looked out of place with the entire pack.

He knew it wasn’t pity. Steve had stated many times he was interested in Tony, wanted to court him… or at least that was what everyone had been implying. Natasha wanted Bruce, so it wasn’t pity for him either. What the beta had said was a lie, but Tony couldn’t help the small voice of doubt in his head… what if Steve and the others _had_ taken them in because of pity? What if -

“Don’t listen to them.” Steve had appeared next to him, looking determined and scowling at every shifter standing by and chatting. “They don’t know the truth. They’re just making assumptions without all the information.”

Natasha was now standing besides Bruce, blocking him from view from the locals. “Would you care for company, Звездный свет?”

Tony wasn’t looking his direction but he was positive that Bruce was blushing, and the subject of Natasha speaking another language passed briefly in his head, but right then wasn’t exactly the time. Steve had grasped Tony’s hand and Tony himself couldn’t stop the way his heart skipped a beat. The sounds of residents talking paused and Tony could’ve sworn the entire town went dead silent. Once the moment to process what they’ve seen passed the chatting picked up, louder than before. Steve was revealing to them all his true intent and wasn’t holding back or looking embarrassed one bit.

“Steve,” Tony whispered, “what are you doing?” The leader of the Avengers shouldn’t make a show in public, especially not for him. He didn’t need to lay some sort of affectionate claim in front of others, Hammer never did.

“I’m holding your hand,” Steve answered as if it was that simple. He even appeared confused by the question. “Unless you don’t want me to. I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first. I just wanted to…” Steve acted sheepish. “ I didn’t want them to say things without knowing what’s really going on.”

Tony didn’t know what to say to that. The alpha was willingly telling others instead of just leaving it alone for them to make assumptions, or not to tell them at all. Why would Steve want them to know when Tony had nothing to show or to give? He didn’t look anything special, wasn’t a prize of sorts, and was probably making the residents pity the Captain of the Avengers for choosing such an omega.

“Did you not want any of them to know?” Steve added after a while of Tony not talking.

In all honesty he wanted to. He wanted everyone to know because it meant Steve wasn’t hiding him, Steve wasn’t ashamed of him, he wasn’t some dirty secret. But at the same time he was putting Steve on the stop to be ridiculed because Tony really was no one now.

What was the correct answer?

“Do you?” Tony carefully directed.

Steve’s face turned indifferent, his brows scrunching up just slightly and his lips thinned out. He stopped walking, refusing to let go of Tony’s hand and forcing him to stop as well. The pack continued, giving brief glances to make sure everything was all right and moving along after confirmation from Steve.

“Tony,” Steve’s expression remained the same, “if it were up to me I’d tell every person we saw, I’d announce it for everyone to hear if I could, and I know we’re not even close to being called mates and I haven’t even gotten a chance to start courting you, but I’m serious. You might think this is some temporary infatuation or just me wanting to get some curiosity out, but this means a lot to me, it really does. I _want_ you, Tony, and I know we’ve only known each other for a few days, but to me it feels longer.”

Steve released his grip on his hand a bit and finally allowed another expression to appear, a look of unease that switched to apologetic. “But that’s only if you want me. I don’t want to force you and I don’t want you to think you owe me anything. If you’re putting up with me because you feel some sort of obligation, please don’t. I don’t want that for you. If you allow me to court you I want it to be because you feel something for me, no matter how small.”

Now Tony really didn’t know what to say. What _would_ someone normally say to that? He wasn’t used to it and never thought someone would willingly do so to him. After so many years of never expecting it he was unprepared and without a clue on how to proceed, but now Steve was looking at him with fragile hope and shouldn't Tony be the one with the easily breakable heart?

The crowd was still around them. He could hear their chattering but he couldn’t recognize the words. The only thing he was focused on was Steve and his shining, optimistic eyes that were looking at him like he was a… a.. a treasure.

For a second he felt nearly twenty years younger and the little, scrawny nine year old alpha he met in that small town was there and standing next to Steve, sharing the same look but somehow looking determined, too.

Maybe he was shaking, maybe he wasn’t, he couldn’t be sure, but it was overwhelming and a little voice in the back of his head was shouting at him to say yes, to be selfish and get what he’d always wanted. It was right before him.

He couldn’t respond, didn’t think it possible with how his throat nearly closed up from the emotions, so instead he squeezed Steve’s hand and intertwined their fingers when Steve started showing signs of retracting his hold. He nodded, hoping it was enough of an answer.

The scrawny little alpha child disappeared but Steve still remained, eyes still showing that brittle hope and a bright smile now joining them. Steve leaned over, pulled their intertwined hands to his chest, and gave Tony a gentle kiss on his cheek. If the crowd had been chatting eagerly before they were nearly shouting to each other now after watching their display. Steve didn’t seem to mind and Tony found, while still mildly concerned, didn’t give them much thought. Steve was still holding his hand, was still smiling and wasn’t taking back his words.

Steve moved to go after the pack that were now a good distance ahead and pulled Tony along. Tony followed without hesitation. The crowd nearly forgotten and left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On wards to confidence building in the next chapter!  
> Hope this put a smile on your face and may your day go great!  
> Soon things will start happening and Rhodey and Pepper and Happy are nearly right around the corner~
> 
> Let me know what you thought! <3


	16. Shopping for Confidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of insecurity, a moment of bravery and a moment to overindulge and then regret it shortly after.

“I’m heading over to Ben’s to see if he has anything new,” Sam said and pointed to a direction Tony assumed was where this Ben person was residing. 

Bucky walked over to him. “I’m heading over with you. I need a new rifle and some shells.” 

At the word of rifle and shells Tony’s ears perked up. The place that usually traded those things were blacksmiths, and if this town had a blacksmith then maybe he found a way to be useful after all. 

Clint trotted after the two. “Count me in.”

Sam walking away left the cart without a handler. Without even thinking about it Thor grabbed hold of one handle as he passed by it and rolled the cart with him, heading the same direction as Loki. 

Bruce looked to Natasha. “Do you happen to know where someone has herbs for trade? Preferably for tea.” 

The red-headed alpha showed the smallest smile. “Of course. Come with me.” She reached for his hand and began leading him away. Tony couldn’t resists giving him a smirk, one that Bruce couldn’t say anything out loud about it so he glared back at him. They disappeared through the standing crowd that parted to make way for them. 

The only ones left now were Jan, Hank, Loki, Thor, Steve and Tony himself. Jan and Hank were still reserved from their earlier scene but they gave attempts to show they were fine. Jan’s smile was shining but brittle. As for Hank he was content just by following after Jan, letting her lead. 

Tony had the urge to soothe, to somehow make it better, but he was probably not the best option to do so. He didn’t even know what had happened or had the faintest idea why the pair reacted in such a way. He’d more than likely end up saying the wrong thing. 

Perhaps one day he’ll learn the story and actually be of help. For now all he could do was wait for the others to comfort them. 

Steve gave their intertwined hands a squeeze, successfully getting his attention. “Anything in particular you want to find?” 

“Clothing, mostly, and with decent prices, or lower if possible.” The last part made him turn away in embarrassment. Thinking it was one thing but admitting the fact that he couldn’t afford anything to others was hurtful. It really showed how much his life had changed. 

He searched the area, wanting to lessen the feeling. There were a couple of stalls and displays that showed they sold cloth and clothing, but while most of them looked decent and honest there was no possible way to tell the prices just by looking. He didn’t want to see a shirt or some pants that he really enjoyed only to find they were out of his price range. The disappointment would worsen the feeling. 

“We know a couple of places,” Jan said. “What do you think, Elinor’s boutique or Mara’s?” 

Steve and Loki seemed to think it over.

“I was thinking more Joyce,” Steve said. 

“I agree. If appropriate prices were to play a role, Joyce is the best option. For the best of silk, Mara’s.” 

“Off to Joyce’s we go then,” Jan began leading them. “She’s actually close by here and Mara’s right along the way, too, so it works for us.” 

Through a lake of stands, shops, and vendors, Jan and Loki maneuvered them around the crowd and to their destination with little trouble. Having the title of famous pack had its benefits, apparently, and no one wanted to risk being known as that one individual who made the Avengers wait. No one paid them any mind, not even Tony, though he was still conscious about the stares they were giving him and Steve. While conscious he didn’t exactly minded that much, not with Steve still firmly holding his hand and showing no signs of letting go any time soon. It made him almost stand up tall. As if no one could touch him. And… and maybe for once no one would dare, not with his pack nearby, not with the Avengers. 

They all took care of their own. They were all understanding and from the way they had created a barrier around Jan and Hank after their scene upon entering the town, they also protected each other, he was sure of it. Being part of the pack meant they would protect him, too, right? If not outright they’d still protect him through assumptions. No one sane would dare threaten a member of the Avengers, even if they were simple den omegas, because it meant risking earning the wrath of the entire pack. Or at least that was the idea. Even if the Avengers were to never lift a finger, no one outside the pack knew it. They didn’t know if the Avengers were going to protect the omegas or not, but it was better to be safe than sorry and not try it. 

Tony could only hope. The residents didn’t seem to mind openly speaking about Bruce and him. It probably meant other shifters outside the town weren’t going to hesitate either. As long as there weren’t physical altercations he could survive it. 

And while Steve continued to hold his hand and stuck close to him, right then and there he felt he could survive anything the world hadn’t thrown at him yet. 

“Here we are,” Jan said when they reached a shop that had a metal sign hanging on the edge with the words ‘Joyce Wear’ etched on it. It was a two-story home that seemed to have the first floor dedicated for the assortment of clothing tucked around. Some of them were spread for display while others were tucked inside a closet, waiting for someone to go through them. 

“Joyce, good morning.” 

“Jan,” a female beta walked around a display case towards them. “I wasn’t expecting you this week. What do I owe the pleasure?” 

“We’re here to get a packmate of ours some clothes,” Jan gestured to tony and then leaned in closer to Joyce in order to whisper the next part. “I’m giving him a Jan makeover.” 

Joyce grinned at the idea. “Wonderful! I haven’t seen a Jan makeover since you got your hands on your archer packmate. Who is it this time?” 

Without another word Jan pushed Tony forward. “This is him.” 

Joyce seemed to pause upon seeing him. Her eyes scanned everything from his face to his outfit down to his very boots and back up. The instinct to hunch and make himself smaller nearly took over but then the beta reached out to him, barely brushing her fingers on his face, and her eyes showed awe. “What lovely bone structure, and your frame… it’s perfect for a waistcoat and long boots. Throw in an unbuttoned short coat and you have a beautiful specimen here.” 

Tony’s face burned up from that, the flush reaching down his neck. 

“Jan, you simply must let me help you.” 

“I’d love nothing more, Joyce. Loki is going to consult for us.” 

“Perfect! With his eyes we can’t go wrong here. Come, I have the perfect section that’s just meant for you.”  

She led them further in the room, nearly all the way in the back on the farthest corner. Upon sight of them Tony instantly knew the attires were out of his price range. They were professionally sowed and didn’t appear to have a single hole anywhere on the fabric. The color hadn’t faded away either, meaning they were properly taken care of and handled. If he had luck on his side he could possibly have enough coin for one single set, and that only included the shirt and pants. He had nothing for boots or coats. He was probably pushing it with buying both the shirt and pants as it is.

He thought he made himself clear when he had said lower prices, but being a famous pack and apparently owning a fair amount of money perhaps their lower prices and Tony’s lower prices were completely different in range. 

“Let’s get started then,” Jan said and before Tony could even blink she grabbed him by his arm and dragged him to stand in front of a large looking glass. In the process it dislodge Steve’s hold on him. “Stay right there and don’t move. Can you stand up straighter? Here, hold on, move your arms, give me a twirl, yes, perfect! Let me see…” 

Caught off-guard all Tony could do was follow what Jan demanded of him. Jarvis had flown away the moment he was yanked to the looking glass. The traitor. Jan lifted his arms, made him turn a total of six times, tilted his head on every angle and even yanked his leg from right under him. He nearly toppled to the ground when Jan asked Loki to aid her and the serpent shifter grabbed his shirt from the back and lifted it up without shame. Tony managed to keep the front of the shirt in place, narrowly avoiding them all from seeing his web of scars on his chest, but his back was a lost cause. 

He knew it was wishful thinking, but he hoped none of them would give the few scars decorating the sides of his back a second thought. The reflection showed Jan and Loki exchanging brief glances before continuing on what they were doing. He didn’t dare see if Steve had caught sight of them. The pair hurried along, prodding and repositioning. At one point he was required to stand on one leg for minutes and that one leg began shaking from having to support his entire weight. Then Joyce returned with stacks of shirts, pants and even stockings and coats and Tony had no idea how they were going to go through all that in the little time they had. 

“This is all I have that would go perfectly with him,” Joyce said, already picking up a soft blue shirt. 

Jan lit up from the sight of the pile. “Brilliant! Let’s get started.” 

Jan, Loki and Joyce began digging in, choosing all kinds of shirts with long or short sleeves and pants made of different silk with stylized buttons and seams. Tony swore he saw their eyes glint with mischief and he felt himself go pale. He searched for Steve or Hank or even Thor, eyes pleading for a rescue. He found Steve sitting on a chair near the door, giving him a wave of encouragement. Jarvis was settled next to him, watching everything. Hank was looking at the coats and Thor was waiting outside with the cart, and from the way his head was tilted down he had to guess the lion shifter was chatting with Vision. Listening in closely he heard Vision’s distant high pitches and chains of sound. 

It was obvious none of them were going to help him so he accepted his fate. Before doing so he tried to shoot Steve a look of betrayal in a last attempt to guilt him into helping, but all the alpha did was give a shrug and say, “I’m sorry. Anything else I would have jumped with my shield at hand, but even I won’t go against Jan when she teams up with Loki. They’ll eat me alive.”

While the statement was sweet and had humor in it Tony took a pause to wonder if Steve would truly jump for him. If he were in real danger would Steve run in to help without giving it a second thought? Was Tony worth it? No, perhaps not. Steve was the Captain, leader of the Avengers pack, he had to look after himself first. Not worry about some lowly omega who had nothing to offer, even if the omega was a potential mate. 

Still, what Steve had said was a lovely declaration, even if untrue. 

He gave the alpha a smile, showing his appreciation, before Jan and Loki and Joyce returned with multiple shirts, pants, coats and stockings. They began placing the attire over his own in order to get a better idea of how it matched his figure. Each one was place for a total of four seconds before another one replaced it. The ones the three scoffed at were thrown off to the side, forgotten. The ones who they gave two glances at were gently placed on an empty wooden table, stacked in an order that only seemed to make sense to the three. 

Soon, the pile Joyce had put together lessened to something rational and manageable for their limited time. 

“Perfect!” Jan picked from the selection and created a matching set. “Here, try these on first.” 

Tony held the shirt and pants out, unsure of what to do. Loki and Joyce did as Jan and picked their own set, waiting patiently. Tony felt helpless for a moment. “I, uh… do you happen to have somewhere I could…?” He wasn’t sure if the three expected him to change right then and there and out in the open. He didn’t want to subject them to his heavily scarred chest and sharp body. 

“Of course, sorry, I have a spot right over there,” Joyce pointed to a part of the room that had a curtain circling empty space. “Just pull the curtain up.” 

Tony did so and got to work taking off his clothing and folding them as neatly as he could while in a rush. The set Jan had given him was a soft white and brown shirt with dark stockings and a long grey coat. Tony could instantly tell the difference between this set and his own. For one, it fitted him. It wasn’t loose and it wasn’t tight. It wrapped around him nicely without feeling squeezed. For another, the clothing had that new feeling, as if never worn before. Stiff, a bit itchy and somewhat dusty. 

“Are you finished, Tony?” Jan’s voice was heard from the other side. 

He steeled himself, preparing for whatever they were going to comment on the injustice he had done to the beautiful attire by wearing it. He pushed through the curtains and searched for every little tell on their faces when they came upon sight of him. He had expected distaste, perhaps a change of mind for Jan, Loki openly cringing and Joyce taking back her words from the start. 

What he hadn’t expected was for Jan to clap her hands together and grin broadly, jumping in place, or for Loki to nod approvingly or even for Joyce to fan herself. 

“Tony you look incredible!” Jan nearly shouted. “Turn around, turn around, let us see.” 

The compliment stunned him. He blindly did what he was told, turning slowly with his ears burning from the flattery. He searched their faces again, looking for the smallest twitch that showed they changed their minds but found none. If anything giving a spin made them approve even more. 

“You are stunning, Tony,” Jan spoke as if she meant it. There wasn’t a trace of deception in her eyes. “Is it too late to seduce you to be  _ our  _ mate, instead? We’ll fight Steve if we have to.” 

“Do pick up your tongue from the floor, Steven. It’s most unbecoming of you,” Loki said drily to Steve, who Tony barely noticed was now standing with them and was drinking in the sight Tony made. His eyes scanned his entire body and his mouth was open, looking awestruck.

Tony felt his flush go deeper because, if he was reading it correctly, it was  _ him  _ who was making Steve look like that, and he truly must look incredible if everyone was reacting positively. 

Thor came in with Vision tucked under his arm, reacting similarly to the rest. “Dear Anthony, you are a sight worthy amongst the stars. I would not mind fighting for your hand, should you allow me.” Vision released an approving whistle with the statement.

“Remarkable, Sir. Simply remarkable,” Jarvis said from his spot on a display case. 

Hank appeared besides Jan, studying him with an appreciative eye. “I agree with Jan. I wouldn’t mind fighting Steve for you.” 

“Enough,” Steve regained his composure. “No one is fighting anyone for Tony. He isn’t an item to fight for and claim.” He took a pause and huffed, crossing his arms. “That being said, I asked him first, and I  _ will  _ knock you out if you even try.” 

While a bit taken back Tony couldn’t help the small smile that formed. He couldn’t even look at Steve as he said it. He ducked his head, wanting to avoid his gaze and hoping it somehow hid him. The words that Steve had spoken… it was something said joking around, yes, but it meant so much to Tony. The closest he was going to get to someone fighting for him, showing how much they cared and how much they wanted him, and he willingly took it. 

Joyce continued fanning herself. “Captain, you are one lucky alpha.” 

Instead of scoffing, instead of putting him down or contradicting what she had said, Steve appeared to puff his chest out proudly, nearly posturing from the words. “I really am.” 

Engulfed by so much flattering and unused to it, he really had no idea what to say to them. Denial was on the tip of his tongue, perhaps a joking remark to give them a chance to take back their words or even just say that they didn’t need to go overboard with their words in order to make him feel better. 

He couldn’t actually get any of it out. 

“What do you think, Tony?” Jan asked, gesturing for him to use the mirror. 

He didn’t know what to expect to see on the reflection. He imagined himself to look the same, unkempt, average, nothing unique like he had been before, but from the way everyone reacted from just a simple change of clothing there had to be a large difference to his appearance. 

When he came upon his reflection he understood why. He almost didn’t recognize himself on first glance. Jan had been right and clothing did truly make the wearer shine. Not even his own collection from the wardrobe back with Hammer had made him glow like Jan’s first choices had. The way the colors chosen made his skin look healthy, the way the coat’s collar somehow framed his face, the way the shirt and stockings fit his figure… he was, dare he say it, nearly presentable enough to be associated with the Avengers without embarrassing them. 

He caught himself smiling at his own reflection. 

Jan came over and placed her hands on his arms and gave a squeeze. Hers and his reflections stared back at them. “What do you think?” 

“I - it’s - I look…” 

“Astounding?” she finished for him. “Beautiful? Gorgeous? Handome? Someone who will make anyone walking by look at you twice? Trust me, there won’t be a single soul who won’t turn their heads to you.” 

“Y-you think so?” 

“I know so. Steve will have his hands full batting anyone who comes near you.” 

Tony chuckled softly at that. “I don’t think he has anything to worry about when it comes to that. They might turn their heads, but they won’t try anything.” 

The smile Jan had disappeared. “What makes you so sure?” 

He shrugged. “Nothing special about me. Maybe if I was, I don’t know… younger, I guess. You should have seen me before -”  _ before Obie decided the best for me was to be mated to Hammer.  _ “I was a catch and in my prime.” He tried playing it off and even offered her a reflexive smirk, something he hadn’t done in so long. He didn’t even know he still had the reflex. 

Jan wasn’t smiling or laughing, though. She rested her chin on his shoulder and gazed at his reflection with considering eyes. “Perhaps, if you saw through our eyes, you’d understand what we mean when we say you’ll have heads turning. No one will be able to resist. Age has hardly affected you. In fact, if you’re implying you’re numbers are high then it just means your aging really well. Getting better with age if anything.” Another squeeze of his arms. “You might not believe us completely when we say these things, but I hope you at least believe some of it. Even you have to see how handsome you are, young or not.” 

Tony looked away from their reflection, not able to keep seeing Jan's honest and determined face. He feared if he gave her the chance she'd see right through him. She didn't need to get subjected to his broken and jumbled and mess of a life and past. She already had her own monsters to fight. 

“Well, that settles it then,” she pulled away and gave his coat a pat down. “I don't know who's told you otherwise, but you are both very handsome and very beautiful and I'll keep reminding you until some of it gets stuck on that head of yours. I promised I will work you until your thighs burn and I plan to keep my promise. There's still plenty of choices left to try out.” 

And work him she did. Tony lost count of how many times he changed behind the curtain and how many times they all complimented him with every reveal. His face was no doubt flushed from all the flattering, and it got permanently stuck when Steve used “Sweetheart” to refer to him at one point. Tony didn't believe Steve thought it through when he said it, seeing as the alpha’s face also turned an interesting shade of red after he realized what he had uttered, but even so he didn't take the words back. In fact he got brave and used it a few more times, doing a good job ignoring Jan's and Thor’s teasing. 

After what could've been the sixteenth outfit tried that involved wearing a same dark red shirt, they ran out of clothing. Tony slumped heavily against the nearest wall, tired, hungry and surprisingly sore from standing for so long. Off to the side on the same table that used to hold the pile of clothes now held the small stack that were made up of Tony's preferable choices. The time finally came to actually buy them. 

One outfit. That was what he estimated he could afford, considering the products were thoughtfully made instead of a rushed handwork and with material that were actually decent. Now came the hard choice of choosing. He enjoyed every single choice presented. They were beautiful clothing that when carefully put together could make someone look so elegant they'd be mistaken for Barons and Baroness’ or even a higher title. 

Tony picked out the shirt and coat that had created the very first outfit tried. Instead of the dark stockings he went for dark pants, wanting the looseness of the material instead of leaving nothing for the eye involving his legs. Without a word he took his choices over to Joyce, waiting for her to tell him his total.

“All together that's going to be 38 coins.” 

Tony was near in tears after hearing that number. He was coins short, not having enough to even buy one single outfit. Shamefaced, he placed the coat away. His old one was still presentable. No need for a new one. “And now?” 

Joyce frowned but didn’t say anything. “Without a coat that’s 25.” 

That he could afford. It was going to take a chunk of what little savings he had, but at least it was something. He reached for his bag of coins, ready to count the twenty-five out, but just as he opened it Jan called him over. “Tony? Could I borrow you for a moment?” 

“Of course, I just need to pay -” 

Jan waved the concern. “It won’t take long. You don’t mind, do you, Joyce?” 

Joyce shook her head. “Not at all.” 

Tony never noticed the silent exchanged the two betas had as he walked over to Jan. She held up a blue, short-sleeved shirt over his chest, measuring it. “I like the color, I really do. I’m going to add it to the list.” She put it back down, seemingly done. 

Tony waited for a moment before asking, “Anything else?” 

“No, I’m done. Thank you.” 

He turned, ready to count the coins again, and was just in time to see Steve hand over a bag to Joyce. Confused, because he never saw Steve pick anything out for himself, he handed the twenty-five coins over but Joyce shook her head. “Already paid for. Everything on the table, including the coat, is yours.” 

Tony knew his jaw made a journey for the floor. He felt it stop when it couldn’t go further. Surely he hadn’t heard her right. Already paid for? And  _ everything  _ on the table? Who -? 

His head snapped to Steve, who was currently carrying half of the stack from the table to the cart. Thor carried the other half. Realization struck him and he called to the alpha. “Steve! Did you -?” 

Steve paused long enough to say, “I did. I have enough coin and no idea what to do with it, so it hardly made a dent.” He smiled softly. “Think of this as my first gift to you, or as a gift from the Avengers if you want to see it that way, but I prefer from me.” 

All thought process stopped for a moment. What was he supposed to say? “You didn’t - I don’t need your -” He had to stop himself. The reflex to not accept, to not allow others to spend their time or earnings on him, made him want to reject what Steve had done. He didn’t want Steve to use his own coins to buy him things, no matter how much Tony needed them. 

“I wanted to, Tony. It’s no trouble.” Steve, maneuvering the pile in his arms, leaned down to kiss him on the cheek and whisper, “I’m happy to do this, so please allow me to.” 

Tony didn’t know what compelled him to do it, or what even gave him the courage to try, but on the spot, a moment fired by emotion, he turned his head just enough so his lips replaced where his cheek had been. And because Steve was still in place from whispering, just an inch away from contact, the movement caused their lips to meet. It was quick, a feathery touch of skin, but Tony swore he felt more. When he pulled away he prepared himself for Steve’s reaction, apology ready on his lips. 

Steve, for the most part, remained stunned. Eyes wide, lips parted from Tony’s own doing, and mind slowly catching up to what had happened, Steve remained still for another few seconds before his entire face blew up red and he straightened. “I - I - w-we - did you - did we - u-uh, you, why -” with no proper words coming out Steve gave up and settled on a whine while trying to cover his face with the clothing. 

Tony wasn’t sure if the reaction was positive or negative so he looked to any of the others that might have watched them. Turned out none of them did. They were all outside, waiting by the cart. Thor was busy tucking the clothes away while Loki was standing next to him, gazing off in another direction. Jan was chatting with Joyce and Hank was resting his head on her shoulder, feigning sleep. 

Since Steve wasn’t shouting profanity or demanding him to never do that again, Tony hoped the reaction was positive, or at least not unwanted. Still, years had taught him to always apologize. “I’m sorry, it was - it was the heat of the moment. I wasn’t thinking if you wanted it or not.” 

“No, no, it’s not that,” Steve quickly assured. “You just caught me off guard. I didn’t know if  _ you  _ wanted to, or not. I’m taking it slow because I want to do this right.” 

Right, of course. Steve was a gentleman, courting and doing everything properly, while here was Tony basically throwing himself at the alpha like the wh-… who-… that he is… 

He deflated. The courage long gone and humiliation taking it’s place. “Right, sorry, I’ll just… I’ll go now.” 

He walked out, not turning when Steve called to him. He gave a shrug to Jan when she asked if anything was wrong and walked to the side of their group when they began moving again. They were shooting him stares, he knew they were. Perhaps in accusation, perhaps in worry, he didn’t know, but he learned when something he had done goes wrong he must hold his gaze down and not say anything. Make himself as invisible and less of a nuisance as possible. So he did. 

He kept quiet as Loki and Jan led the way. Thor was back on cart duty and Vision was once again resting on the surface of it, getting comfortable with the clothing. Jarvis was also on the cart, taking up residence on one of its walls. Hank and Steve were somewhere on the other side of the cart. Tony could see them from the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t tell where exactly they stood. 

“And here we are, May’s corner,” Jan said when they arrived at a cozy little building with a stand and a sign on the front and pastries of different kind arranged behind the window for all to see. In front of the place were two small tables for anyone to rest on. Loki and Thor quickly claimed one for themselves. 

“Mrs Parker,” Hank called out. “Mrs Parker, are you there?” 

“Han’!” someone responded who’s voice was too young and high and sounded nothing like this Mrs Parker was referred to. From out the door ran a child, arms wide open and ready for a hug. The child ran right to Hank and when Hank opened his own arms the child practically  _ jumped  _ into them. “Han’, Han’,” 

Hank stood while holding the four-year-old looking child. “How’s your day been, Scott? Have you been good for Mrs Parker?” 

The newly named Scott nodded, chubby cheeks puffing out. “Uh-huh, I have. See me?” 

Jan came over to them and ruffled Scott’s hair. “Yessir we came to see you.” 

Scott gave a childish grin. “Jan!” 

“Scott!” she mimicked. 

“Goodness,” a voice that actually matched the name of Mrs Parker came through the door, “what a lovely surprise.” Out came a female omega with an apron, long hair pulled into a bun, and a warm smile. “I wasn’t expecting any of you today.” 

“Ma’am,” Steve nodded. “Thought we’d make a quick stop since we were going to pass by. Came looking for some trade, and we wouldn’t mind a few sweets and glazed bread. I owe Thor seven of them.” 

“Well I’m always happy to provide. Just got a fresh batch out. We even got a good stock of almonds.” 

At the mention of sweets Tony’s stomach gave a painful growl. Just the word by itself sounded delicious, spoils that he didn’t deserve, even if he currently had the coin to spoil himself with just one. The little coins he had belonged to Steve. The alpha paid for all the clothing, it was the least he could do to repay. 

Heavy hearted he claimed the other table for himself and slumped on it. He’d rather not see the sweets through the window or Steve buying them or Thor eating them. He might end up unable to resist and give in to his urges if he did. The coins didn’t belong to him anymore. 

He also didn’t want to see Jan and Hank and the apparent child they were acquainted with or the image of a happy little family they created. 

With a sigh he rested his chin over his crossed arms on the table and stared aimlessly at the wooden surface, taking in the details and the handwork. While he was doing his best to ignore the pastries tempting him there was nothing he could do about the smell that escaped through the door. With each intake his nose filled with the sugar and the warmth from the freshly baked bread and he cursed his stomach for demanding a taste. He had no right. Sweets were a luxury, something he no longer had. 

Perhaps one look couldn’t hurt… 

And… yeah, it could. The pastries were taunting him and he couldn’t do anything besides stare longingly at them, imagining how they would taste. He turned away, using sheer will to ignore anything that had to do with the sweets. When he noticed movement next to him and someone sitting down he thought it a perfect distraction and got ready to start any kind of conversation, only he was abruptly stopped instead. A paper bag was shoved in front of his face, the scent of glaze and warmth coming strongly from it. He had to blink twice in order to make sure it was real and not just his imagination acting up. He followed the hand holding the bag back to Steve and his determined face. 

A question was on the tip of his tongue but Tony couldn’t speak them. When he made no move to grab the bag Steve decided to place it in the middle of his crossed arms. “I didn’t know which ones you wanted, but nobody could go wrong with glazed almonds and sweet rolls.” In his other hand he held an even bigger paper bag, one that was capable of holding dozens of little bread pieces. 

Tony had an idea of what was going on, but the instinct to deny it was strong. Steve buying him treats was only another amount he owes from the nonexistent coins he had. 

“These are for you,” Steve pushed the second bag forward. “They’re all for you. I’m not looking for repayment. I don’t need you to do anything. This is me wanting to make you happy, and maybe you’re not used to that, but I really hope you’ll allow me to. Will you?” 

Tony, in his haze to understand, wondered how someone like Steve could possibly exist and why he was putting all his effort on someone like him. What did Steve truly see in him? What was Steve looking at that Tony couldn’t? “Why are you doing this?” 

Steve blinked, the determination and confidence melting away. “Because I want to make you happy.” 

Was it truly that simple? “But why all this?” 

The alpha looked away, staring at the paper bag. “You deserve it all,” and just like that the determination was back, “and maybe I’m still too young to understand, but I get the feeling you’ll be worth everything in the end. I can’t explain it and maybe I never will be able to, but when you kissed me, that brief contact that we had, it made me want you all the more. I didn’t mean to make it sound as if I was pushing you away for doing it. I was truly just surprised. It wasn’t unwanted if that’s what you were thinking.” 

Tony was starting to learn he misinterpret things more often than not when it came to Steve. Will the alpha eventually get tired of him if he continued to? 

Unable to utter words, yet again, he turned his gaze down and pulled his arms to him, enclosing them around the paper bag and holding it close. He felt his heart jump when Steve reached out a hand to brush his fingers on his chin and tilted his head up. He was prepared for when Steve leaned forward, expecting what was to come, though still a little surprised if he was honest. Steve stopped for a second just as their noses were about to touch, searched his face for any tells, and finally closed the space between them.

Tony shut his eyes, taking in the sensation of Steve’s lips against his own. They were a bit chafe, pressing firmly, and yet still remaining gentle and somehow matching Steve’s persona. The contact ended far too soon for Tony, but instead of moving away Steve moved even closer, pressing their sides together and wrapping an arm around Tony’s shoulders. 

The two paper bags rested innocently in front of them, momentarily forgotten. “Better eat them while they’re still warm,” Steve suggested. 

Tony reached for the large bag hesitantly, unable to shake the imbedded fear that Steve would perhaps snatch the bags away, taunting him with the sweets. Steve made no move when his fingers touched the material and didn’t budge when the bag was opened. The delicious smell was released all at once and Tony’s mouth watered. In his fingers was the soft roll of bread covered in icing. Large enough to fit in his palm and possibly the largest sweet he’s had in a long time. When he bit into it he couldn’t hold back the tears. Sugar exploded in his mouth, his tongue was dancing and he couldn’t chew fast enough. He licked his fingers when nothing was left, feeling betrayed that it ended so soon. 

“Want another?” Steve offered another roll. 

He wanted another. He wanted them all. Was he truly allowed to, though? 

“Go on, they’re all for you.” 

The second roll disappeared just as fast as the first and no amount of reasoning stopped him from going for the third, or the fourth, or even the fifth. Water was brought to him when he nearly ended up choking but that hardly slowed him down. 

He told himself the reason he continued eating them one after the other was because they were going to lose their warmth soon and sweet rolls always tasted the best when they were fresh out of baking. But somewhere in his mind the possibility of this being the only time he would ever eat this luxury turned him into a temporary glutton and made him indulge in it.

His stomach felt like a bottomless pit. He continued to eat the rolls with hardly any trouble and even moved to the smaller of the bags that had glazed almonds in it. He munched seed after seed, finishing half of the bag before returning to the rolls. It was all going smoothly until he hit the ninth roll. The eight sweet rolls with twenty-something glazed almonds finally hit him and his stomach gave a dangerous twist. He felt bloated, his stomach hurt and he couldn’t look at the ninth roll without getting the urge to gag. He put the roll back in the bag, gave a whine, and leaned heavily against Steve. To add to the mix he felt tired as well. 

“Tony?” Steve studied his face. 

Tony groaned, not wanting to move. The urge to sleep the day away a strong one. With eyes half-lidded he watched Steve look fondly at him before giving him a small kiss on his cheek. “Guess you overdid it, huh?” 

He hummed, wanting to nap the discomfort away. 

“Get some sleep, Tony. We’ll start moving when the others come back.” 

Tony didn’t need to be told twice. He recollected a few occasions where he woke up just enough to remember his surroundings after that. He was carried to the cart, face pressed against hard muscle with a wonderful smell. Vision stirred him awake afterwards when the little machine cuddled himself against his side while Jarvis nestled by his neck. For the entire trip back he remained stubbornly asleep, not wanting to face the world with a full stomach. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyooooooo, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and just building up the confidence in Tony, although a bit small and then have it get torn down again because Tony is a stubborn goober. So let me know what you thought of the chapter and I hope it made you all smile! 
> 
> Also, guess who just got a gig as a bartender? Meeee~ My time will be very limited now and I may not be able to keep up with the weekly or every other Friday Update schedule I had going. Sneak peeks might end up being a must in order to make up for this. These sneak peeks will be over at my tumblr under the tag of either #naferty writes and/or #finding pack (I say and/or on the second tag because sometimes I forget to put this tag on it, and my first tag I put on every post that belongs to me, sneak peek and me answering questions and everything else). 
> 
> Check my tumblr every once in a while if you don't want to get left in the dark for too long. I also have a few answered questions from readers wanting to know specific things about this fic. Come ask if you're curious about something, too!


	17. Belly of Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! I'm sorry this update took longer than usual. Time moves surprisingly quickly when responsibilities take up every corner of it. 
> 
> So here we have angst and progress, enjoy!

Tony stirred to movement over his body. With his mind a haze he didn’t piece together where the movement was on him or what could possibly be doing the movement. What he did notice was how comfortable and blissful he felt. Comfortable he had recently started getting accustomed to since leaving the shacks and spending the night on an actual bed. Blissful on the other hand? Not so much. 

He hadn’t felt this happy after having woken up in so long. He didn’t think there was ever an occasion where he was this content shortly after waking. There had to be a reason for it. 

Then his mind slowly caught up and the movement became more defined and he felt what could only be hands running over his stomach. His stomach, that he was apparently exposing for he was lying on his back, and other hands that didn’t belong to him were rubbing over his belly in a circular motion. Up from the spot just below his ribs and down to his navel the hands were running soothingly with enough pressure to make it known, but not hurt. 

Tony’s first instinct upon realizing that  _ someone  _ was touching his stomach, an area very sensitive and with important meaning, was to flinch and push himself away. So he did. He went stiff, grounded his feet and elbows on the floor and nearly jumped in his hurry to back away from the hands. The culprit responsible was left shocked and frozen and it took a moment for Tony to recognize those blue guilt-ridden eyes belonging to Steve. When he did he finally took notice of their surroundings. They were in the mansion, Tony lying on the still present pile of blankets and pillows left in the center of the common room and Steve kneeling next to him. His hands were out in an angle that suggested he was about to run them over something. Run them over Tony’s stomach. Run them over his stomach while he was still asleep and never being any wiser of it happening. 

Betrayal was an emotion Tony hadn’t felt in years. He needed to trust in order to feel the disappointment and the hurt for when someone took advantage of it, but there had been no trust with his old pack and no trust with Hammer. There was nothing for him to feel let-down for. But this, what he was experiencing, he’d know the emotion anywhere. He just didn’t understand how he could be feeling it in the first place. He had only met Steve days ago, how was it possible for him to have Tony’s trust already? Why had Tony himself started to subconsciously give him the trust? 

Tony had started to believe Steve different. Steve was supposed to be different. He wasn’t supposed to have a single trait shared with Hammer. He wasn’t… 

He shouldn’t be surprised by this. He truly was nothing but a mate meant to stand by the side and be used whenever his alpha got the urge. For a hopeful and delusional moment he thought he was more, and maybe it held truth, maybe Steve saw him as more than someone to pleasure himself with, but that didn’t mean Steve wasn’t going to take what he wanted. Tony was used to his mate touching without question. He’s had years of experience for it. He should’ve been prepared, should’ve been ready for when his alpha wanted something of him, but here he was, pushing Steve away and rejecting his contact. 

Tony knew better. Hammer had taught him better. 

“Tony,” Steve’s voice wavered, “I’m so s -” 

“Sorry,” Tony managed to mumble and cut through, voice characteristically small. He forced his legs to straightened, trying to show shame for his reaction and to relax his body, even though tension still pulled at his muscles. “You - you caught me off guard. I didn’t mean to pull away.” 

He trailed his eyes down. Never keep eye contact. He didn’t have the right to. He waited for the alpha’s response, for him to either accept the apology and demand retribution of sorts and continue what he was doing, or to demand a better apology and send him away. But even though he thought it, somewhere in the back of his mind he couldn't actually imagine Steve doing any of it. Years had taught him what responses he was to expect from his alpha. The last few days had taught him differently and thrown those responses away in respect to Steve. 

He couldn't be too sure, not until he actually witnessed what Steve would do. 

“Sir,” Jarvis jumping on his thigh brought him out of his thought process, nearly startling him to scramble to his feet. “My apologies, Sir, I did not mean to frighten you. I simply wished to seize your train of thought. Mister Rogers means no harm to you.” 

At that Steve begins to nod frantically, remorse written all over his face. “I'm sorry, I should've known not to touch without your permission, but you looked so uncomfortable while sleeping and I figured maybe it was all those rolls and almonds you ate so I thought I'd do what I could to make you feel better and relax.” 

The cockatoo bowed his head. “I gave Mister Rogers permission to sooth the discomfort away, Sir. I believed perhaps he could end your restless movements for you to gain proper rest. I had forgotten the importance the area of contact is to you and what it entails. Forgive me.” 

Steve twiddle his thumbs. His head was down, hiding his eyes and making him appear small. “Forgive me, too, Tony. I wasn't thinking.” 

Right then Vision rolled near to Tony, bumping against his hip softly. He made a sad little pitiful sound, shaking his body before leaning forward to appear as if he also had his head down in shame. 

He was wrong. Tony had been wrong. Steve had been touching his belly while he was asleep, but he had no ill intent in mind. The alpha wanted to make him feel better, and Jarvis and Vision had given him the go ahead to do so. His little bird and machine were watching out for him while he slept. They wouldn't let Steve do any harm to him, not while he was unconscious no. 

His little ones were looking out for him, and Steve hadn't meant to betray him. A knot that had formed in his chest unwind and he breathed easily. This wasn't Hammer. It  _ wasn’t _ Hammer.

This was Steve. 

He reached out to his little ones and raised their heads to look at him. He gave them a reassuring smile, if a bit brittle. “No, it's fine. You didn't mean to cause any trouble. Apology accepted, just, maybe next time let me be awake before agreeing to anything.” 

They nodded. “Of course, Sir.” 

When he faced Steve the blond still had his head down. Tony didn't have the first clue on how to respond to the alpha avoiding eye contact with him. No alpha, not even any betas, ever down casted their eyes to him. It was always him and only him to avoid their eyes and show his inferiority. Having Steve do that to him just didn't feel right. What was he to say? 

He willed his heart to calm down as he spoke. He didn’t know what to say, but he could form questions, so he did. “Did you mean it?” 

Steve appeared hesitant, but eventually he lifted his head enough to allow his eyes to peek through his hair. Even with the guilt present Tony could see the confusion in those blue eyes. 

He swallowed before pushing himself forward. “Wanting to make me feel better. Is that truly the reason why you did it?” 

“It is, Tony. It was the only reason why,” Steve sounded so sincere, so pleading. “You kept moving in your sleep and frowning. I thought perhaps it was the stomach ache you gave yourself and I could do something to help you sleep more peacefully.” 

Tony took the information in. Was it possible -? “D-do you know the importance… of the area…?” 

Steve bowed his head again. “I know exposing your belly means showing respect to the pack leader and surrendering to enemies. It also shows trust to pack mates.” 

Tony waited for Steve to elaborate the last part when omegas were the ones exposing their belly, but the alpha didn’t show signs to further continue his explanation and Tony started understanding how the situation had gotten to where it was. “And to omegas? Do you know what else there is for us?”

Steve hunched his shoulders and from the visible bit of skin on his face Tony could see through his golden hair Tony noticed the red tint it had taken in… embarrassment? It had to be embarrassment. There was no denying that reaction and the guilt that came with it from not knowing something important, and when Steve lifted his head and avoided eye contact the two were all over his face. “Is there another meaning for omegas?” His face grew redder when he asked that. 

There was no reason for his face to turn that shade of color, but it just proved the honesty Steve was expressing and the fear Tony had in the beginning completely disappeared. He sat up straighter and considered what he was going to say. “There’s not exactly another meaning besides showing trust, but for omegas our bellies are…  _ really  _ sensitive. Harsh touches can really hurt us while soft touches can be really relaxing and very intimate.” Tony felt his own face grow hotter after finishing the sentence. While intimate could describe closeness, he was using it loosely to hint on a specific reaction that could occur from caressing an omegas belly. Granted, alphas and betas also had similar outcomes, but for omegas it was much more intense, almost instantaneous, when they felt the touches. 

Steve was looking at him now and his eyes were the widest Tony had ever seen on him. While his face was still the same shade of red, in his blue eyes there was evident horror created from a realized mistake. “Was I hurting you?” Steve quickly rushed out. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware about an omega’s sensitivity. I would have never touched you if I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

It was all a misunderstanding. Steve didn’t know. He hadn’t properly known about an omega’s belly. He really just wanted to help him feel better. “You didn’t hurt me, you just caught me by surprise, like I said. You truly didn’t know?” 

Steve nodded, not looking one bit bothered by Tony’s repeated question. He then averted his eyes to the ground momentarily in bashfulness. “I’ve, uh, I’ve never - is it bad to say that not much was explained to me about omegas besides what is usually said about everyone? Alphas and betas. I haven’t tried courting one until you. I apologize in advance if I do something omegas consider really offensive or hurtful.” 

A pause. “This isn’t your first, is it?” 

“No, no, I’ve pursued others, but,” the alpha gave a small smile, “this is my first in properly courting and, well, wanting something serious. And I know it’s far too early to say that, and even though I’m having a rocky start on all of this, I will work hard in order to win your heart and your hand.” 

_ There’s not much you have to do in order to win that, _ Tony found himself thinking as he felt his heart jump and was followed by the odd feeling of warmth around it. The feeling was nice and not something he usually associated outside of Jarvis and Vision. In fact, he hadn’t felt anything this warm that didn’t come from his little bird and machine in years. Not after Obie gave him to Hammer and the military took Rhodey away from him and Hammer took him away from Pepper and Happy. And the feeling itself was different. What he was feeling for Steve, he couldn’t explain it, didn’t know where to start in explaining how it was different. He just knew he hadn’t experienced this particular emotion before. 

And he was afraid to have the only thought that came to mind on what it could be confirmed. 

“How do you feel?” Steve eventually asked. The red and guilt had disappeared on his face and caution took it’s place. Caution not for Tony, but for himself. The alpha was behaving carefully in order to avoid another disastrous moment. 

Tony was grateful for the gentle approach. The betrayal was gone and the short burst of adrenaline he had received when trying to back away from Steve was no more and without it’s distraction the uncomfortable sensation in his stomach that Jarvis, Vision and Steve were trying to soothe away came back in full force. It seemed the rolls and almonds were still making a combat. 

And he burped unattractively on the exact moment he ran a hand over his stomach. He groaned from both the humiliation of it and the discomfort. He might have also released a whine, but he refused to acknowledge it. 

“Stomach ache still there?” Steve looked sympathetic. 

Tony nodded as he glared at his stomach, the traitor. 

“Hank actually went to make something to help rid the bloating, but I don’t know when he’ll return with it. Could be a while more.” Steve’s eyes went back and forth from Tony’s face to his belly and back. He appeared seconds away from asking something, but hesitation prevented the words from leaving his mouth. 

With the bloating making itself evident Tony found he missed the contact of Steve’s hands over his stomach. He had been half asleep when he first realized what Steve was doing, but before the shock and betrayal filling his senses relaxation and bliss were what he woke up to. His body had enjoyed the alpha’s hands running over his belly, perhaps a bit too much if he was honest with himself. Gentle touches were few and far between since Hammer, and Tony was embarrassed to admit he might be desperate and eager for whatever contact he was given. 

His only regret at the moment was not being awake to properly experience the contact Steve had given him. 

But… perhaps… if he could gain courage, and Steve was kind enough to… maybe he could - “Could you -” The words got stuck in his throat, preventing him from asking anything, and the thought of  _ why would Steve even do that for you after the way you reacted? _ stopped him from trying again. 

He decided he’d rather put up with his stomach ache instead of asking Steve for what was essentially a belly rub. Steve probably had better things to do. But the alpha threw his decision out of the window before he could even suggest leaving the pile of pillows. “If you’re still in pain… I could help… if you want I mean.” 

_ Yes _ , Tony wanted to say. “You don’t have to.” 

Steve carefully reached out to touch his knee. “I don’t mind, Tony. In fact, I’ll be happy to do it if it makes you feel better.”

“I - I… don’t want you to use up your time on this.” 

“I don’t have anything else to do. Besides, taking care of you is important and a privilege.” Those words plus Steve’s endearing stare were almost too much. The warm feeling was back, and so was the fear of what that feeling could’ve been. 

Unable to say words Tony nodded, relieved that it was enough confirmation for Steve and the alpha leaned forward to rest on his knees. A gentle hand on his cheek with the thumb running over his cheekbone prompted Tony to close his eyes and shortly after a pair of lips meet his own. Unlike the first two this kiss lasted longer than a brief contact, so much so that Tony was actually pushed down as Steve added pressure, making him lie and rest on his back. Steve rested his hand on his hip as he continued kissing him, momentarily pulling back to kiss the corner of his lips and then his cheek and over his closed eyelid before going for his lips again. 

Tony leaned in to every single kiss, sucking in the affectionate contact and burning the sensations into his memory. And while his mind was distracted by Steve’s lips and his nose was filled with his smell he could still note the moment Steve’s fingers touched the exposed skin on his hip, his shirt having wrinkled upward. The fingers were warm, and if Tony focused on them enough the touch turned nearly searing. As those fingers ran over his skin and trailed to his belly it left that heated touch everywhere it passed and Tony enjoyed every single second of it. 

Then Vision released a very long and very high pitched sound that steered to being scandalized and caused them to break away from each other in surprise. Jarvis looked every bit as scandalized as Vision sounded. The white plumages on his head were slightly raised and his tiny black eyes were narrowed in on them. “While I am happy the outcome is enjoyable for you, Sir, please refrain from losing control in a public room and in front of Vision.” His voice even took a drier tone. 

It took a moment but when Tony acknowledge what they had just done he found himself in shock. The touches on his skin that had a more intimate edge to it accompanied by kisses usually initiated one outcome and that outcome Tony had to pretend to enjoy ever since Hammer. The fact that he was taking pleasure from Steve’s contact truly and with no force from just fingers over his skin said a lot, and - no, no, now was really not the time, body. 

While his mind was scrambling from the sheer knowledge of him actually enjoying intimacy Steve had lifted himself to kneel upward and shot the cockatoo and machine a bashful and apologetic look. His hand still remained over Tony’s belly. “Sorry, got a little carried away there, didn’t we?” 

Tony stared blindly at the ceiling, his mind still in shambles. He had enjoyed it. He had truly enjoyed it. It was one thing to imagine the touches and enjoy that, as he did in the bathing room and with his own hands. It was another to actually experience it from the very hands he had to create in his mind and enjoy it, perhaps even more so than with his imagination. 

The hand was still hot on his skin, seeping through in his belly and awakening something that really shouldn't be happening in a public room where anyone could walk in, exactly as Jarvis had warned. 

Even so, bottom line of it was,  _ I had enjoyed it. _

“Tony?” 

Tony blinked. The hand on his belly moved in that circular motion he had woken up to, successfully gaining his attention. 

“There, are you back with us?” Steve grinned. “We lost you there for a moment.” 

The hand continued the motion, adding pressure each time it went forward and removing it when it pulled back. With each completed circle Tony’s train of thought slowly left him. The sensation being the only thing his mind focused on. It felt great, it was soothing and everything Tony had wanted but hadn’t received in years. If he could purr like a feline he’d be doing it on that moment. 

“How am I doing?” 

He hummed. He had no words to express his contentment so he went with the only option he had to show both his gratitude and his trust. He pushed his head back and exposed the softest part of his neck in submission. The hand stopped for a moment and a fear that perhaps he had done something wrong made itself known, but before that thought could completely plant its roots in his head the hand gave a gentle squeeze that was followed by movement over him and a gentle kiss was placed on his throat. 

The small whine he released was still loud enough for them all to hear and it prompted Steve to kiss another section of his neck and then another and another. There was no show or even a hint that the alpha was going to bite and mark him. Tony didn’t think he would. 

Another gentle kiss right where his neck and jaw met and one last kiss on his lips and Steve pulled back. He used both hands to run soothingly over his belly, melting any discomfort and relaxing him to the point of falling asleep all over again. 

He woke up briefly to Steve gently shaking him and offering a cup of something that Hank had created. He drank it without much thought and went back to sleep.

When he woke up again it was to the smell of something warm and delicious and associated with meat and bones. He was wrapped in a blanket and burrowed in the pillows. Shifting to the side he found Vision resting next to his stomach under the blanket. Jarvis he found nesting on the pillow over his head and to his great joy he also found Bruce joining him in the ocean of cushions. The other omega was awake and staring lazily at the ceiling. He gave Tony a gentle nudge when he noticed him moving. 

“Got some decent rest?” Bruce smirked, knowing something Tony didn’t. 

Since there was no more aching in his stomach Tony figured a fair amount of time had passed, long enough that apparently it was lunchtime, or maybe dinner, already. He heard footsteps and rummaging of utensils and laughter in the kitchen. 

Tony yawned and stretched out. “Dinner?” 

Bruce nodded. “Dinner, and you woke up just in time. Smells like it’s ready.” 

Just then Tony’s stomach decided to growl, showing no signs that the sweets from earlier had affected it. If anything he felt even hungrier than ever. 

“Ready to have real food instead of just sugar?” Bruce stood, offering Tony a hand. 

Tony was ready for real food and then some. The thought of anything sweet at the moment made his stomach churn and whatever food was waiting in the kitchen was really appreciated. He took the offered hand, grabbed Vision from the floor and waited for Jarvis to fly on his shoulder before heading to the kitchen with Bruce. This time instead of seeing Sam standing in front of the pot and cooking it was Steve and Bucky preparing the food. Bucky was in the middle of chopping coriander while Steve stirred the pot of soup. With an experienced hand Bucky finished cutting the plan and sprinkled it in the soup in one swift movement. Steve mixed it in, giving the ladle three spins before declaring it finished. 

“Good morning, you,” Jan said jokingly when Tony and Bruce appeared. “Enjoyed your nap?” 

Steve turned around as soon as the question was asked. “Hello, you’re right on time. Dinner’s ready.” He grabbed one of the many present bowls and scooped up two ladle-full of soup into it. “Eat up, plenty of broth to go around.” 

The alpha leader handed the bowl to Tony and Tony decided not to pay any mind on how Steve served him the biggest piece of meat present in the pot. “Thank you.” 

Steve brightened up before turning away and filling up more bowls. Bucky caught Tony’s eye, huffed in a good natured manner after noticing his bowl, and gave him a smirk. 

The others that were now present in the kitchen gave similar reactions when they noticed his bowl. Some of them even shared the same knowing smirk Bruce had expressed upon first waking up. When he caught their eye they each either winked, wiggled their eyebrows, or in Loki’s case simply stared expressionless at him. 

“Soooo,” Clint started with a mischievous glint. “How was your nap?” 

“None of your business, Clint. Leave him alone,” Steve answered instead without looking back. 

“I just want to know details. I’m not hurting anyone.” 

“No.” 

“Was there a tumble in the pillows?” 

“ _ Clint _ .” 

“Declarations of -” 

“I’m warning you.” 

“Was it above or below the belt?” 

Sam elbowed the beta, gesturing to where Steve stood. “He’s the one getting your food. I wouldn’t antagonize him if I were you because I’m not letting you take from my bowl.” 

Clint threw his arms around Sam. “Don’t be like that! You’re suppose to love me.” 

“Sometimes I question my sanity about that.” 

“That hurts, Sam, right here.” 

“You’ll be fine.” 

A moment passed with silence. 

“So was it above or below?” 

Sam groaned, Steve turned around with an empty bowl in hand and a heartless smile and Tony tried covering his face as best as he could in order to hide the flush building up. 

Maybe he could hide in the mountain of pillows. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha-haa! For those of you who read the sneak peek over at Tumblr I got you, didn't I? Bet you weren't expecting that right? Right? Unless you did in which case I have to admit you're a smart cookie and I'm really predictable. 
> 
> To those who are surprised at the Sunday update. I had asked over at Tumblr if they didn't mind that I updated any day of the week instead of just Fridays. Everyone was cool with it so here we are! Expect updates randomly now. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought! All of you are awesome. <3


	18. Under the Moonlit Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a doozy and sorry it took so long.  
> Here I bring you angst, small progress, understanding and Loki being an ass, but he's a wise ass.

Tony was left stunned at the sight he was seeing. The surface of the water shined under the rays of the sun and the small waves created by the wind gave it the effect of flickering stars under the evening sky. Yellow, orange, blue and purple colored that very sky over the trees in the distance. The water reflected those colors and twinkled those stars and it was perhaps the most beautiful sight of nature Tony had seen in a long time. It was almost too beautiful to be looked at by him, but even if he tried to leave or turn away Steve was making it extremely difficult to do so.

The alpha sat beside him. He was sitting up straight and almost basking in the attention from the light the sun was giving. His visible skin glowed in soft orange and yellow and the blue of his eyes were illuminated in nearly pure gold. The tips of his hair disappeared from sight but Tony hardly paid any mind to that. Steve could go bald for all he cared, the alpha was still beautiful under the light.

Tony couldn't look away even if he wanted to. And he couldn't just walk back to the mansion either. That would be rude to the alpha who was currently walking him to the lake as promised. So he looked at the alpha and he looked at the lake. There was so much beauty everywhere to look at Tony didn't know where to begin.

Eventually Steve caught him looking and instead of appearing offended or annoyed he smiled good naturedly. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

 _Your beauty_ , Tony found himself thinking. _You're beautiful and the lake is beautiful and I don't know what I'm doing here or what you see in me._ “Nothing, I'm just… you're glowing, that's all.”

Steve ran a hand over his own cheek and chin. “Am I? Can't think of a reason why I'm glowing. No, actually, I think I can.”

Tony waited for the alpha to say something simple like the sun or reflections to explain why he was glowing. Instead, Steve reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers together. “Could be because you're sitting next to me.”

In a surprising turn Tony's face didn't turn a bright red from the comment. His mind was racing with the same thoughts of why Steve was here giving him attention and how he was apparently lucky enough for it.

And now since they were both alone with no pack and no Jarvis or Vision or Bruce, Tony was able to ask the question without feeling pitied for it. At least he hoped Steve wouldn't pity him. “Steve,” he started, not having enough courage to actually make eye contact while asking, “you can probably choose anyone in the world to be your mate. They'll trip over themselves at the very thought of you courting them. All the betas and omegas in the shacks you found me at would’ve been over the moon if you had paid attention to them. Why… why me? Why did you choose me?”

He didn’t get an answer right away. It took nearly a minute for any kind of response to happen and it was in the form of Steve’s hand giving his own a squeeze. A gentle yank of his arm caused Tony to look at the alpha. The smile was gone now and in its place a frown took over. Steve looked upset, almost insulted by the question as if being told he was attractive to everyone was an offense. “Do you think I should go after them, then?”

Tony felt his stomach drop even before Steve finished the question. The idea didn’t sit well with him. In fact, the idea was painful to think about.

“Is that… is that what you’re trying to tell me? Do you want me to go after someone else because you don’t want me to court you? Because I’ve told you before I’m serious about you. How many times do I have to say it?” There was a heavy underlayer of emotion in Steve’s voice. Emotions bordering on irritation. Even if Tony couldn’t have heard it he could’ve smelled it. Under the layers of scents that made Steve smell like Steve there was a sharp and bitter layer that Tony knew all too well to associate with irritation that eventually led to anger.

Tony’s hand shook without his consent and he knew he probably had the beginnings of an omega smelling of fear. He closed his eyes instinctively. He learned long ago with Hammer and Obie that if an alpha was angry they would lash out, either physically or verbally, and the instinct to cower when it happened was something not even Tony could fight against. Hammer enjoyed the smell of fear he would release. It usually appeased him enough to spare Tony from the blunt of his words and his backhand. It was something Tony relied on in order to lessen the pain, even if it happened against his will and purely on instinct.

And while he knew this wasn’t Hammer, this was Steve and so far Steve hadn’t given any signs to be anything like Hammer, the ingrown dread made it extremely hard not to react accordingly to what he had learned. The fact that he was alone with Steve, who was bigger than Hammer, stronger and fought against countless aggressive packs, didn’t help matters at all. A backhand from him would surely break bone and bruise Tony for weeks. Tony couldn’t risk it.

Tony kept his eyes shut and waited, focusing on sounds of movement and Steve’s scent. He prepared himself for anything. For Steve expressing his frustration, for Steve to lash out in any form, for Steve to demand something, anything, to make up for angering him. Then Steve moved and Tony hunched himself, only to go absolutely still when he felt arms wrap around his shoulders in a gentle but very firm hold. The smell of sharp and bitter anger disappeared and a whine rang next to his ear. Tony was unable to stop the squeak that escaped him from the surprise of Steve hugging him, and he also had no control over his body as it relaxed when a new scent reached his nose. The smell was almost honed on the center of the spectrum of scents themselves. It was no longer sharp but it still had a harsh edge to it along with a calming layer.

Tony could smell more in the scent, his nose having been heightened thanks to the adrenaline fear had created, but the alpha hugging him was making it difficult to focus enough to distinguish them. The alpha was shaking him, no, not shaking him, the alpha was trembling and in turn was vibrating Tony.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Tony. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry, please don’t be scared, please don’t be scared of me. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Steve repeated those words over and over again to the point of creating a mantra. He didn't slow down and he didn't stop trembling, not until Tony calmed enough that his heart wasn't painfully beating heavy in his chest. Steve wasn't irritated anymore, wasn't even smelling close to how he was not five minutes ago. He smelled _scared_ and _guilty_ and was holding Tony like a lifeline. He was holding him as if he had just wronged him somehow.

“I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry -”

Tony almost didn't want to move. What if the moment he did whatever spell Steve was under would break and the alpha’s irritation and anger would return?

“I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Tony, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not mad, I'm not upset, not with you. I'm sorry.”

One part of that statement caught his attention. Steve wasn't upset anymore, not with him. He was possibly upset about something or someone else, but he wasn't upset _with_ Tony. _He wasn’t upset with him_. He couldn’t be. He had just said it so he couldn’t be.

Tony reached out to wrap his arms around Steve and buried his face into the crook between his neck and shoulder and took a long inhale, relishing on the musk still present that Steve emitted through the layers of the dispersing emotion. The scent relaxed him and he barely noticed Steve doing the same as him and burying his neck in-between his own shoulder and neck. The alpha was still mumbling words, muffled by his clothes but still recognizable.

“I’m sorry, please believe me I didn’t mean to. Don’t be afraid, Tony.”

“I - I’m not… I’m not.” Tony managed. The fear had finally receded.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Steve continued saying. “I didn’t mean to, I swear I didn’t mean to.”

And Tony believed him. “Steve...”

“It wasn’t you, it wasn’t you I swear -”

“Steve….”

“I’m sorry, I’m -”

“I understand, Steve, really, I understand.”

That got Steve to stop for a second long enough for him to pull back and grasp Tony’s face in his hands and face each other. There were very evident tears in the alpha’s eyes, making them appear larger and causing the blue to glisten.

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

Looking at the heartbroken expression on Steve’s face nearly made Tony cry himself. There might have been the beginning of tears building up, the stinging sensation there but not entirely acknowledged. His focus was on Steve and how the alpha leaned forward to try and kiss the tears away.

“I’m sorry.”

“I understand.”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“I know.”

“I just can’t grasp why you believe you don’t deserve me. I’m nobody special or important, Tony.”

 _No, Steve, you are. You are someone very special and very important and you shouldn’t be within my reach_ , Tony thought.

And as if reading his mind somehow Steve repeated what he had said and left no room for doubt. “No one deserves me like that. I’m not some prince that everyone has dreams about mating. In fact, Thor is more a prince than me. I’m just someone who our pack mates seem to think is the best to lead them, even though Bucky and Natasha are just as equally good to lead us.” Steve kissed him on the lips. “I don’t want better, I don’t want worse, I don’t want anyone except you.”

 _But why_ was on the tip of Tony’s tongue. “You… are really, really… determined, aren't you?” he tried to tease, but ultimately failed. The joking tone falling flat by his voice cracking.

Still, Steve managed a chuckle. “I am. I'm so determined to try. So determined to earn it, if only you'd stop thinking whatever it is you're always thinking that makes you doubt me.”

“It's… it's not you, Steve, really. It's…” _It's all me._

“Tony, can…” Steve bit his bottom lip nervously. “Can you tell me… about yourself? Your past?”

All at once Tony's past flashed before him. His short years under Howard's questionable care. The years following up to the day Obie offered a chance where they could get back what they lost. The day Obie introduced him to Hammer. Hammer's hungry stare and the handshake that sealed his fate. Hammer's gentle touch that would soon change to pain and bruises. His soft words that would soon tear him down. Rhodey and Pepper and Happy unable to say or do anything as Hammer and Obie took him from them. Unable to say goodbye.

“My past is nothing unique,” managed with no emotion. He was actually surprised at himself for being able to say something nearly as expressionless as Loki. Maybe it was to spare himself reliving the nightmare that was his life, or maybe it was to spare Steve from discovering how broken and tainted he truly was, but the idea of sharing his past closed him off instantly.

But, even if he had devoid any emotion in his voice and hadn’t uttered a single word of his past, Steve still looked stricken, as if he could somehow _see through_ him. For some reason or another, however, Steve didn’t push forward, didn’t ask further about his past. He simply held Tony closer and tucked his nose in his neck. He pushed against Tony, prompting Tony to lie on his back and have who-knows-how-many pounds of young alpha resting his upper body on his chest.

“You know,” Steve started when they stopped shuffling to get comfortable on the ground, “I was small as a child. Perhaps the smallest and skinniest child you’d ever see.”

Tony mentally snorted, highly doubting Steve would be the smallest and skinniest child he’d ever see. Tony had already seen the smallest child, the scrawny alpha he had run into in that small town. Still, he tried to imagine the tall, muscled and powerful alpha that was Steve as the small child he was describing, but all that came to mind was Steve’s head and face connected to a skinny body and passing him off as weak. Somehow the look still matched Steve, in an odd sense.

“No one thought I’d live to see my eleventh year, let alone reach adulthood. I was destined to be put in the ground before I learned how to talk, and yet here I am,” Steve chuckled, as if he somehow found it funny. It wasn’t funny. “I was always sick, I was always struggling and I was always fighting as a child.”

“If you were so sick that they thought you dead before growing out of infancy, how were you always fighting?” Tony didn’t understand. How was a sickly child even fighting in the first place?

“I couldn’t fight adults, no matter how much I wanted to. The way some of them would talk about others or how they’d treat them, it made me angry. Especially the alphas that looked down on betas and omegas. I couldn’t stand it, but I couldn’t exactly do anything about it. So I fought with the ones I could. Adults weren’t the only ones being disrespectful and for some reason or another parents taught alpha children to do the same. Taught them that alphas deserved respect simply because they were alphas and treat anyone else like dirt. I hated it,” Steve said so fiercely that it was shocking he didn't accidentally hurt Tony. “Any alpha I saw treat betas and omegas with disrespect around my age I would stand up against. They didn’t have the right just because of their status. Drove Bucky absolutely mad.”

Tony chuckled, despite his throat stinging from the knowledge of Steve standing up for betas and omegas, standing up for those near the bottom, and getting emotional about it. “I take it Bucky wasn’t exactly happy with you fighting?”

“He couldn’t stand it,” Steve sounded fond now, “but he didn’t have a choice. Even when he told me to stop I wouldn’t listen. Still tells me to this day, but you can see what good that does. He couldn’t stop me so instead he helped me.”  

“And here you both are.”

“Here we both are, part of a pack together and still standing side by side.”

The entire conversation brought forth memories of Rhodey, Tony’s overbearing and protective and on occasion puppyish alpha wolf best friend. Rhodey hadn’t been part of Howard’s business pack, but he had been living in the same town and Rhodey’s pack had made a fair number of deals with Howard. Meeting Rhodey and spending time together had been easy, especially since Howard hardly paid attention to anything Tony did. A member of a pack associating with another pack was usually frowned upon, but with progress being made and relations strengthening from the conduct it was starting to get accepted. There were still certain rules to follow, but none of these rules involved Tony and Rhodey. Tony only ever saw Rhodey as a best friend and brother, and in return, much to his dismay, Rhodey saw him as a _little_ brother to look after.

And look after he did, if all the alphas and betas that received a growl and a threat in their town from Rhodey had anything to say about it.

Tony wondered what Rhodey would think of him now if he saw what twenty-something years with Hammer had done to him. Would Rhodey even recognize him? Probably not.

“I had a best friend who’d growl at anyone who looked at me wrong when I was growing up,” Tony said before he really thought about it. It just slipped out.

“Did you?” Steve sounded interested, happy. “Tell me about them?”

“His name’s Rhodey, or, actually James, but I call him Rhodey.”

“Huh, what a coincidence. Bucky’s name is James, too.”

“Is it?”

“Bucky is his nickname based on his middle name he can’t stand. Stuck with him ever since. Guess we have the same taste in friends.”

“Maybe. Rhodey’s last name is Rhodes, which is where the nickname came from, even though it’s not much of a nickname just adding one extra letter.”

“It’s different, I count that as a nickname, and with two James it’s a good thing we have them.”

“It’ll be confusing when referring to them by their first names, that’s for sure.”

Steve took a moment to lift his head and rest his chin on Tony’s chest to look at him. His eyes were sparkling again under the light of the moon. The sun long gone by now. He looked almost peaceful, relaxed, and Tony could smell the contentment radiating off of him. “Tell me about your Rhodey growling at anyone who disrespected you. Sounds like my kind of friend.”

The pure interest evident in Steve’s eyes made it impossible to think he was lying and actually could care less about what he’d say. Steve _wanted_ to know and wanted to hear about the past that wasn’t tainted by Hammer. The part of his past that had actual happiness but was hidden away through layers of pain and fear and humiliation. How could Steve manage to so easily?

“There was this alpha that referred to me as a… well, as someone good for nothing but breeding,” he ignored the way his heart twisted just from saying that word, “Rhodey didn’t like that and didn’t hesitate to call the alpha out. Turned out the alpha was really sensitive about his big nose and how he always seemed to smell of spoiled cheese. He tried fighting, but what he apparently didn’t know was that part of Rhodey’s pack was made of alphas and betas who switched their military pack for a family pack. They all taught him everything he knew and the alpha went down in seconds.”

Steve laughed at that, natural, open and free. “They sure didn’t see that coming.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh along with him. “No, they didn’t.”

Without even noticing they lost track of time. From somewhere between talking about Rhodey and his suspicious skill of always managing to find Tony when they took short trips through the forest and Bucky’s equally suspicious skill to always know when Steve was in trouble and managed to always appear on time to help they realized how late it had truly gotten. They had been lucky so far in staying out so late without enemies attacking, but only because while they were enjoying the view of the lake their pack were out patrolling for unwanted guests. Their pack could only stay up for so long and had probably gone to bed a while ago, except for the one who had gotten the short end of the stick and was still awake keeping watch.

Tony would’ve enjoyed staying out longer. All they had done was talk and reminisce and cuddled together without a single shift of mood or a move to initiate a heated tumble on the grass and dirt. In fact, the thought of it never once crossed Tony’s mind. He had spent hours alone with Steve and they had just talked the whole time. Was Steve truly real?

A bit stiff from lying on the hard ground they walked back to the mansion with Tony wrapping Steve’s coat, that he decided to wear for their walk, tighter on his body and Steve with an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. When the building came into view Tony spotted one of the windows of the tower attached at the back glowing a faint green. Curiosity and questions filled his head, but he had an idea of what the source of the lighting could’ve been. After all he had seen it earlier that day when Loki had casted a spell on the cart.

Tony’s eyes never left the window. Surely if green light was present Loki was still possibly awake. Could be because he ended up getting the task of keeping an eye on him and Steve, even though the serpent wasn’t actually watching them, or it could be because Loki couldn’t sleep.

“If you’re curious about the lights that’s Loki working on his spells,” Steve said when he noticed what Tony was looking at. “The tower works both as an arcade for him and as a library. If you’re ever on the hunt for Loki and can’t find him anywhere he’s likely to be in the tower. First place we look.”

The tower and Loki remained in his mind long after they made their way inside and were standing outside the door to Tony’s room. Steve held his hand and kissed him. “I really enjoyed spending time with you, Tony.”

A tingling sensation traveled down his spine. Steve had enjoyed it and a type of satisfaction ran through his veins from hearing the alpha say that. “I did, too,” despite the shaky beginning they had.

“If you want to I’d really like to do it again.”  

“I’d like that.”

Steve broke out a grin before kissing him again in goodnight and waiting on Tony to enter his room before walking away. Tony remained in his room for a total of five minutes before venturing outside again and walking down to Bruce’s door. He pressed his ear next to it, listening in on Bruce’s soft snoring and nothing else. The other omega had gotten the duty of watching over his cockatoo and machine while he took his walk with Steve and if he were to guess from what he was hearing he’d say Jarvis and Vision were also asleep. Not having the heart to disturb any of them and not exactly wanting to sleep alone on his bed yet he wandered away and headed further down the hall. With no clear destination in mind and no clue where certain doors or corridors led he continued his quiet walk blindly, being careful not to wake up any of the others.

He knew he probably still didn’t have the right to just walk wherever he pleased, but curiosity was eating at him. He had no clear destination, not until he found himself gazing at two doors that had a green light shining through the edges. Clearly the doors connected the mansion to the tower and somehow he had managed to find it. He didn’t acknowledge what his subconscious was thinking but clearly his subconscious knew exactly where it wanted to go. He feared knocking at the door, not knowing if it was all right to disturb the serpent or if he was even welcomed in the tower, but after standing a good few seconds in front of it the choice was taken from him when the doors suddenly opened. He certainly jumped an inch in the air when it happened.

“Well? Are you to come in or do you wish to remain there?” a voice that was clearly Loki’s echoed to him.

Surely the serpent was angry now from being disturbed. What had Tony been thinking coming to him? “I - I shouldn’t have bothered you. I’m sorry, I’ll go -”

“Do you have a habit of always apologizing? It’s quite annoying.”

Tony flinched at that. “I-I’m so -”

“If you cannot say anything that isn’t an apology than do not speak.” Through the doors Loki appeared, face annoyed and eyes stern. “You should not ask for pardon so easily. It is demeaning and pathetic.”

Tony had long ago learned that physical contact could give pain that lasted hours or even days, but words left emotional scars that never healed for years and cut deep into his heart for him to always remember. Loki’s words, while meant for a different reason, hurt just as much as Hammer’s.

“Are you to cry now?” Loki’s eyes narrowed. “From speaking the truth you begin to shed tears? I can’t imagine what engaging battle will bring forth. Surely you have more control than this.”

The truth of it was, Tony did have more control than this. He always had control for when Hammer released the harshest of words at him, but he always prepared beforehand. He hadn’t expected for Loki to do the same and so the tears caught him off guard.

He moved his arm to wipe the tears away with his sleeve only for his wrist to get caught by another hand and held in place inches away. A handkerchief was shoved at his face and he blinked in surprise at the serpent.

“If you are to shed tears do not clean them away with your attire. Freed tears from a past pain holds no spot for your attire to carry. You do not need that weight.”

Not really understanding but not wanting to make the serpent angry Tony furiously wiped his eyes with the cloth. “I d-didn’t mean to -”

“To what? _Cry?_ Then what did you mean by it? Were you to actually laugh but your body confused it with tears?” the serpent sneered.

“N-no,” Tony tried but ultimately couldn’t counter anything Loki said.

“Were you to hold it in instead? Ah, surely that is it. You are to simply stand there and allow others to speak over you with no consequence. You are a carpet meant for others to walk on and nothing more.”

Tony looked at the floor and said nothing. To have what he had been doing for years be spoken out loud by someone else was a humiliation that had tears building up all over again. He couldn’t even respond back to it, and that told Loki enough.

The serpent sighed. “There is much work to be done. A wielder of the arts surrendering his voice to others without a fight is a disgrace I will not stand.”

The tears were forgotten and the pain caused by the words disappeared in an instant. His body turned cold and fear clutched at his heart. Loki knew. Loki _knew_ of his ability to manipulate magic. Panic clawed in his chest and breathing became difficult. Only, instead of grinning madly or demanding something of him like Tony expected Loki rolled his eyes, muttered words and tapped his forehead. All at once the panic and the fear melted away and breathing continued as if never interrupted.

 _A calming spell,_ Tony thought belatedly. Loki had just used a spell on him to prevent distress from happening.

“I will excuse the first occurrence of your grief for the start of your healing, but I will not allow a second in my presence. And it shouldn't be a surprise that I have knowledge of your skills. I am, after all, a wielder of natural magic and am capable of sensing others,” and with that Loki turned around and walked deeper in the room without another word.

Tony scrambled after him, ready to beg for Loki not to mention a word and completely forgetting the risk of angering the serpent for invading his space. “Wait! Please -”

Loki stopped. “You wish of me to keep your skills a secret, correct?”

Tony was too worried to be surprised that he knew. “Please.”

“Why should I?”

“B-because I - I don’t, I don’t want them to…”

“To what, Anthony? To demand of you? To ask for weaponry?”

Tony felt himself pale. “H-how did you -?”

“A simple guess.” Loki frowned in annoyance. “I sense of your skill, but it is not strong, not like my own. I wield natural magic that my body creates and the usage of staffs is to create a path for my magic to be easily released. But if I were to hand you a staff I imagine it won’t be of any use to you, am I correct?”

Tony shook his head, meaning to agree. “No - yes, I mean, the staff won't-”

“You do not create natural magic, but you are capable of manipulating existing magic. To be more specific, magic that reside in runes, yes?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“In assumption, you integrate runes with everyday items and give them a magical quality, and an item that is most often sought for is weaponry, thus meaning the pit is to demand weaponry of you. How close am I to the truth?”

Tony looked away. “Spot on.”

“If you believe the pit to demand that of you against your will you are a bigger fool than I thought.”

Ouch, that brought the pain back. “I’ve been fooled so many times it’s only natural I become a fool,” he bit, glaring at nothing.

“Spoken as a true fool.”

He clenched his hands. “Look, all I ask is not to mention it to anyone. Please, don’t say anything.”

“Tell me, Anthony, do you truly believe you are the only one with a skill worth demanding of? Is my spells not worth a mention? Janet’s skill in attires? Her mate’s skill in alchemy? Clinton’s archery? Steven’s handling of the shield? The idiot feline’s skill to manipulate lightning?” Loki named off in a bored and unimpressed tone, making Tony slowly realize what he was doing with every skill mentioned. “You are special, yes, but you are not the most unique, not with this pit. There will be no difference should the others discover of your skills, but if you wish to keep secrets from them be my guest.”

Tony quickly jumped to correct the last part. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“No, but it is occurring. Perhaps not on purpose, but you can’t deny you are doing it to your pit mates.” The serpent waved a hand, gesturing to the door in a silent way to say he was almost finished with their conversation. “I will not interfere, but should you ever gain the courage to reveal your skills you might find the results not to be as sizable as you imagined.”

Taking the hint Tony made his way back out the doors. Loki said one last thing before closing the doors. “Remember, Anthony, no one has a right to demand something of you and no one should have that control. You are allowed to deny them.”

Tony considered the words, engraved them in his mind and headed back to his room. Even though the entire interaction left him emotionally drained and even reopened a few of his old scars he found himself almost inspired, confident, and ready for something different. He had a small bounce to his steps as he reached his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought. 
> 
> And since Halloween is right around the corner I just wanna say be safe if you're gonna trick or treat. Them clowns worry me. Don't go alone, bring friends or family! And share you're candy with me.


	19. Worth Protecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter! Be careful reading this one, there's attempted rape here.

“What do you think?”

Tony gave a slight turn in order to look at the coat and boots in a different angle from the mirror recently placed in his room. The short coat with the color of crimson was beautiful and well designed, the daffodil buttons and edges really strengthening the intensity. The onyx long boots, reaching up to his knees and shaping his legs made a beautiful contrast with the white pants it wrapped around. The pants themselves were tight and left nothing to the imagination when it came to his thighs, hips and rear. Thankfully, the coat was long enough to cover part of his rear, but it couldn’t do anything to hide where it connected with his thigh, and now that he was finally noticing Tony was amazed to say that he had gained weight. His thighs had not  been as big before, and neither had his ass. In fact he never recalled his face being filled out, either. His sharp cheekbones were still there, but they weren’t as noticeable now, and his arms were bigger. His stomach was even sticking out slightly, and as he squeezed into his pants he noticed a small pouch just below his navel.

He was getting plump and he didn’t even notice it until now as he tried on Jan’s outfit. It had only been around three weeks, how fast did one gain weight? And now that he had finally noticed, how had he not noticed before? The outfits he had gotten prior that Steve had bought for him (and had absolutely refused to accept Tony’s coin in his attempt to repay the alpha back) hadn’t exactly wrapped around his skin like this outfit, but they weren’t loose either. He should’ve spotted the difference with the fitting the moment the pounds started making an appearance, but… he just didn’t pay that much attention to it.

Jan walked around to look at Tony in a different angle. She appeared to be appreciating the sight but was still waiting for his response.

The outfit itself was a masterpiece on its own, but with Tony wearing it? He couldn’t deny he looked almost noble in it, but he didn’t do it the great justice it deserved. The outfit was expertly done and if worn by someone, Steve for example or even Thor, it would’ve looked stunning, for both the shifters and the clothing. With Tony, however, it looked, well, it looked beautiful in on itself, and it made Tony look better than any outfit he’d worn before. Any of the outfits worn when he was in his father’s pack and even Hammer’s didn’t come close to this one single set. Jan really knew what she was doing.

He looked incredible, truly he did, he just didn’t bring out the entire potential.

“It’s beautiful, Jan,” he finally said, unable to think of something else. “It really is. The craftsmanship and style is unrivaled.”

There was visible color change on Jan’s cheeks, a slight pink tint. She smiled brightly and bounced her arms happily. “Thank you, Tony. That’s really sweet to say, but what do you think of it on you?”

Tony quickly scrambled his head for something to say. He had to be careful as to not accidentally insult Jan, but at the same time he couldn’t say something that made him sound vain. “I look, uh, handsome. More so than usual,” he added to put a playful spin and show he wasn’t serious.

“Of course you’re handsome, no doubt about it, but this outfit adds more to it. You’re more than handsome. You’re stunning, and beautiful, and gorgeous and magnificent and even foxy and someone worth ravishing,” she finished with a wink. “You’re everything I just said and I gotta say I’m very proud with how that outfit turned out. That coat really defines your curves and those pants… I never imagined you’d be hiding something so _voluptuous_. Steve truly is a lucky alpha.”

Tony was sure he was the same color as the crimson coat.

“We’ve got to show everyone else, come on!” she ushered him out of his room and down the hall to the stairs. A few of their pack mates were sitting on the many couches, Bruce and Steve being among them. Jarvis and Vision were settled next to the omega. Natasha taking the other side of said omega. Clint and Hank were on one couch while Thor sat alone on another.

The moment footsteps were heard descending the stairs everyone turned to look at them and simultaneously, except for Bruce, Natasha and Steve, everyone either whistled or gave a bombastic comment.

“You look breathtaking, Tony! I almost didn’t recognize you at all.”

“Literally breathtaking, I don’t think Steve there is breathing.”

“You have stunned our great leader. Truly a most impossible task, and yet so easily accomplished by you, Anthony. Wondrous indeed!”

“You sure you want Steve? Never too late to change your mind. I’ll treat you like a king.”

Used to his pack’s teasing but still flushing slightly from their words Tony was able to brush them aside in order to focus on the ones he was conscious about. Bruce gave him an encouraging nod upon their eyes making contact. “You’ll be the center of attention the moment you enter a room, no denying that.”

Jarvis whistled in agreement while Vision made his body turn slowly in order to mimic a sensual stance. “Truly, Sir. None will be able to resist gazing.”

It was Steve, though, that Tony was really focused on. The alpha had stood the moment they descended the stairs and, similar to the time they went shopping for clothing weeks ago, his face was open and expressive and almost an exact replica at the time. Eyes wide and mouth parted, it looked as if he couldn’t even form words, tongue caught in his throat. Steve gave an obvious look over, his eyes gliding on Tony from head to toe and even Tony couldn’t miss the way his eyes took a pause when they reached Tony’s waist and below. He fought the urge to claps his hands together to try and hide what little he could over his crotch area and also bring attention to it. Steve’s appreciative gaze sent hot flashes down to his belly and if he wasn’t careful his gaze could’ve riled him up further. He couldn’t show his brazen self to the entire pack and make them think little of him.

“Doesn’t he look incredible?” Jan said, stretching her arms to him in presentation yet her eyes were only on Steve.

“You’re drooling again, Steve,” Natasha smirked with a lazy stare towards Steve’s direction. Everyone instinctively shifted their gazes to him, all of them with knowing grins on their faces and while Tony didn’t see any visible drool coming out of Steve’s mouth he did note the alpha looked like someone seconds away from doing it. He blushed and gave a shy smile.

Clint gave a snort. “Get the feeling Steve really enjoys how you look in Jan’s outfit, Tony. Gotta say, I’m enjoying it, too.” He gave a wink and a wiggle of his eyebrows suggestively.

From the kitchen Sam came out with a piece of cloth he was using to dry his hands. “What is Clint enjoying and do I need to chuck something at him for it?”

“Clint is enjoying Tony’s new outfit made by yours truly,” Jan answered with a flutter of her eyelashes.

“Is he now,” Sam sent his mate a suspicious glance before he himself gave Tony a look over and nodded in agreement. “Well count me in on that. Say, Tony, are you doing anything later?”

Steve growled and glared at Sam. The beta simply chuckled the threat away. “Getting jealous again, Steve? You know we’d never do that to you. Besides, Tony’s only got eyes for you, isn't that right?”

Being put on the spot and unprepared Tony simply blinked, frozen in place. Living with the Avengers as his pack had taught him that quick wit and sass that brought laughter was how they interacted and usually was encouraged, appreciated really. Steve even made the effort to laugh at any witty remark he attempted with them, no matter how horribly timed or plain they were.

Remark at the tip of his tongue but unable to say it because his mind was still working on putting it together Tony was left with his mouth slightly parted and everyone else chuckling at nothing.

Similar to Sam, Bucky came out of the kitchen and was running his hand across his hair, moving strands from his face. “What is Steve getting jealous of again and why is everyo- _bloody hel_ … _Tony?_ Where the hell have you been keeping that ass of yours?” Bucky froze mid-step, eyes locked behind and below Tony’s waist and giving a _very_ appreciative stare.

Tony’s face lit up entirely and his hands quickly went behind to cover the little he could. He even turned his body slightly in order to keep his back out of their sights. The flush reached all the way down to his neck, probably matching with the crimson coat, but it was nothing compared to the red Steve had gotten from apparent fury and the near menacing growl accompanied with it. Everyone stopped to turn to him. Steve was glaring at Bucky, having taken one step towards him and looking ready to fight, but for all the intended purpose of the glare the alpha leader was giving, Steve didn’t actually do anything besides continuously release a rumble to let them know his anger was not fading anytime soon.

After a stretch of silence Clint eventually broke it. “Think we went too far?”

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Natasha said while eyeing the pair carefully. “None of us knew what Tony was hiding under all those loose clothes. We can appreciate, but we’re only commenting.”

Bucky nodded at her statement. “Come on, Stevie, you know I’d never do that to you. It’s just a bit of teasing. Don’t think any of us were prepared for how he looks in those pants.”

Steve bared his teeth.

“I’m not trying to take him, Steve. He’s all yours, calm down. Someone else has my interest, remember?” Bucky reasoned.

“Would you ask her that question?” Steve growled, causing Bucky, along with everyone else, to blink.

“What?”

“Would you ask her that same question you asked Tony?”

“What question are you talking about?”

“The only question you asked him! About where he was hiding all along. Would you ask her that same question?”

Comprehension fell on them all except for the four who didn’t know who Steve was talking about. Tony, Bruce, Jarvis and Vision had no idea what was going on or who the person mentioned was, but from the way Bucky’s head went down in shame it was obvious the person was very important and so was the subject.

“Pretty sure if he asked Peg that she would kick him to next month,” Sam said, taking the spot next to Clint on the couch.

“More like next year,” Natasha corrected.

“I’m thinking she’d just plain kill him,” Clint made a waving gesture. “She’s vicious if you disrespect her,” he said to the four who didn’t know who this ‘Peg’ was.

“Exactly,” Steve stopped rumbling but was still glaring. “That question was disrespectful, and if Tony had been Peggy you’d be on the ground right now. There’s teasing and then there’s being rude. You crossed the line, Buck.”

Bucky lifted both hands up, accepting defeat. “I get it, I went too far. I wanted to tease you so bad I didn’t even think about what I was saying.”

It was a slow realization on Tony’s part, and even after three weeks with the Avengers he was still getting caught off guard by what they do and say, especially when Steve was involved. Steve still continued to surprise him every single day. To have the alpha defend him, defend his… his honor; was that what it was? Honor? Tony didn’t have any honor left, but what else was Steve defending? And what was important enough for Steve to argue against his second in command and best friend for him? Furthermore, was Bucky being disrespectful to him truly the reason why Steve had gotten angry?

“Tony?”

Tony blinked back to Jan’s hand on his arm.

“You left us for a moment. Don’t know if you heard, but Bucky was just telling you something.”

Bucky cleared his throat at the mention of his name. One hand of his was rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, sometimes I don’t have a strainer for the things I say, especially when Steve is involved. Just gotta tease your best friend, you know? No matter who else gets in the crossfire.”

Tony understood. He remembered when Rhodey was with him and how often they teased each other and how some of the shifters in their area ended up getting involved. Steve and Bucky were no different, and naturally their pack mates were going to get affected. No way of avoiding it, especially when it wasn’t only Bucky out trying to tease Steve.

“I know,” Tony nodded, “and I understand.”

Jan gave an encouraging squeeze of his arm. “Besides Bucky’s poor choice of words, we all agree that you look absolutely fantastic in this outfit, Tony. Words can’t begin to describe it.”

“You really do,” Clint said. “All teasing aside, you look stunning and incredible and outstanding and whatever else you could comment to someone positively.”

“Beautiful, for one,” Sam said, “gorgeous, breathtaking, sensational, elegant, handsome, charming, ravishing, graceful, take your pick.”

“Oh right, those too.”

Sam elbowed his mate, huffing in annoyance. “You don’t have a single romantic bone in your body.”

“Yet somehow I managed to win you over with my charm and my smile,” Clint gave an attempt at said charming smile.

And so their banter started. Tony had learned over time that when it came to Sam and Clint always expect them to suddenly go into a playful battle of wit. They get lost in their own world that sometimes it was near impossible to get them to stop, so it was better for them to continue uninterrupted and let them halt on their own. Besides, it was always fun to watch them and laughter was always a guarantee.

While distracted Tony never noticed Steve making his way to him. Not until the alpha was one step away and appeared in the corner of his eye. It didn't escape Tony's notice when Steve gave him a look over before he stopped and, if everyone's compliments were to be believed and genuine, it sent a spark of satisfaction down his spine. _He_ managed to attract the alpha’s eyes with the outfit. It was _him_ that had Steve eying up and down. The odd urge to _somehow_ show off was almost too strong to resist. The urge to make the alpha - to make _his_ alpha - proud of him was a near instinct at the back of his mind. He felt so lively.

“I'm sorry about Bucky,” Steve’s blue eyes swirled with shame that he had no reason to carry. “His mouth tends to run sometimes without him thinking. He doesn't mean to be rude or rash, unless he's talking to someone who deserve it.”

Tony nodded in understanding. “He's got interesting choice of words.”

“He does,” Steve chuckled, “but if Peggy were here to listen she’d truly give him a smack or two.”

Curiosity ate at him. Third time the name was mentioned with no one offering a description. “Peggy?”

“You'll love her, you really will. She's a fierce alpha with a fiery temper and pure dedication who won't stand getting talked down without a fight. She's a packmate who’s currently leading another pack at the moment. My previous third in command, actually. She and I gave Natasha the title when she was appointed leader.”

Odd. Usually an alpha packmate leading another pack entailed that alpha left the previous pack so they could be a leader and broke all ties and was never to return to their old packmates. To have that alpha be part of one pack while leading another… first time Tony had ever heard of it. Howard and Hammer’s views were adamant that if an alpha left the pack in order to lead their own they were forever banned from rejoining should they ever wished it. And yet here Steve was still calling this Peggy person a packmate even after she left to lead her own pack. It was almost… honorable. No, it _was_ honorable on his part.

Steve never seized to amaze Tony every day on how he handled things. It was so different to Hammer. Tony hadn't realized the significant difference between Steve and Hammer that he was going to witness before joining the Avengers, but now that it was happening before his very eyes he had to wonder, was Steve and the pack truly this kindhearted, or had Tony been purely unlucky and ended up with one of the cruelest shifters alive as his pack leader and mate?

Fate would surely land him on the second one and laugh while doing so. Life was just that cruel.

The familiar stinging of his eyes, the benning sign of tears, and his chest feeling tight. Self-pity was truly becoming his friend.

“She sounds wonderful, hopefully one day I'll get to meet her.” His throat felt raw and his voice was afflicted by it, causing an obvious shake.  

If Steve sensed or smelled something wrong he didn't point it out, choosing to hold his hand and give unspoken support. Tony was thankful for it. “You will, I promise you that. She's a hard one to let go, especially for Bucky. And she'd say the same thing we are. You look so handsome in that outfit.”

And the pure open and honest expression on Steve's face made Tony believe the alpha meant it.

“Thank you, Steve,” Tony said and leaned up when Steve moved to kiss him.

Later, after Tony had taken the outfit off and tucked it away, he made a decision on when to use that outfit for the first time in public. In the three weeks of living with the Avengers Tony had learned how exactly the pack had earned enough coin in order to afford their mansion. They hadn’t earned it simply from accepting large contracts seeing as one never knew when their next set of contracts were going to appear. They weren’t a reliable constant revenue, but while the Avengers sometime lacked in work as a pack they made up for it individually with their special skill set that brought forth produce.

As it turned out, and Tony shouldn’t be surprised, Jan’s outfits were in high demand. Her stunning and well crafted designs alone gave Jan a well-known reputation in Hattan that in turn passed on to the near towns around it. The fact that Jan also had the title of Avenger on her name sealed a lot of the deals. Many fans would go weak at the knees from the very thought of owning something created by one of the Avengers. A good portion of coin came from Jan, coin that she happily shared with the rest of them. Near the same amount of coin also came from Hank, who apparently enjoyed spending a fair amount of his time studying organic matter and herbs. The well-known alchemist that Hank was brewed potions that ranged from fragrance and flavoring to soothing stomach aches and curing illnesses.

Loki, because of his skill in magic, would break the occasional cursed item brought in by a shifter misfortuned enough to gain a family heirloom that had questionable practices. He would look insulted doing so, probably arguing why he was using precious time on such a mundane task, but nonetheless finish lifting the curse. Thor, while not outright having merchandise to sell that Tony knew of, was responsible for bringing in Loki’s clients. The mention of the word ‘curse’ and Thor would quickly direct the afflicted to Loki’s direction, promising them that the serpent shifter could aid them.

As for Sam, Clint, Bucky, Natasha and Steve, Tony hadn’t confirmed it, but he suspected that the five took up small contracts on their own. Not for big jobs such as hunting stray packs or saving innocents, but small ones that probably consisted of searching for an elusive critter for a frustrated hunter or fetching a lost item or even escorting someone on the road. The stretch of time they would disappear occasionally was enough to complete plenty of small contracts.

Bottom line of it was, every one of them brought in coin for the pack. Meanwhile here Tony was living off of in without giving anything in return. He couldn’t let it go on. He wasn’t a designer or an alchemist or a curse breaker, and small contracts and an omega didn’t exactly go together, but Tony had skill he could sell and an opportunity to start helping and even pay back. Hell, even Bruce was earning coin slowly, his doctor insight aiding and giving Hank a second opinion when identifying pains and illnesses. Tony was the only one not earning his keep and he had to do something about it soon. The guilt was impossible to ignore.

A couple of days after trying out Jan’s outfit Tony woke up bright and early on an ungodly hour. The plan was to rise and start traveling to Hattan before anyone had the chance to spot him. His goal was the blacksmith and working for them, and his hope was to do it alone and avoid revealing his skill to his packmates, at least for now. Tony wanted to pass disclosing anything to them involving his building hands and magical qualities for as long as he could keep it secret. If he were to announce or if anyone were to see him making a trip to Hattan they would surely join and follow him to the blacksmith. No, he had to go with only Jarvis and Vision as his company.

Wanting to make a good impression he wore Jan’s gifted outfit for the journey, fixed as much as he could of his hair to be considered presentable, sneaked as quietly as his somewhat unbalanced body (Jarvis and Vision causing him to lean on one side from their added weight) would allow him, went through the front door and began a light jog the moment he was free. He was careful to smell and listen for any signs of danger. It might have been very early in the morning but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a single soul up and about, especially on the road. Early in the morning was usually the time traveling packs reached towns and Hattan was no different with visiting packs.

Luckily there was no one on the road near the mansion and still no one made an appearance when the river started and gave him the calming sound of running water as a companion for the walk. Seeing as the cockatoo on his shoulder was giving him the silent treatment because of how early he had gotten them up and the little machine in his bag was in a down mood because Thor wasn’t brought along, Tony welcomed a little accompanying noise that wasn’t his footsteps.

By the time Hattan started ascending in the distance the sun had moved enough for the early souls to start making an appearance. Businesses were opening and workers were starting their trips to their professions with either obvious annoyance or forced cheeriness. No one appeared to be a morning person.

Rushing a bit in order to avoid any curious gazes Tony retraced his steps from the few times the pack made a trip to Hattan and headed for May’s corner. He had no idea where the blacksmith was located exactly but he was hoping Mrs Parker did and could lead him to the right direction. When Mrs Parker’s building came into view he sighed in relief from spotting the lovely omega up and about and already placing sweets behind her windows for show. Even the child, Scott, was up and running back and forth helping her. She saw him before he managed to say hi and waved him over. Tony took notice of how her eyes ran down his body thanks to Jan’s outfit, widening slightly. She then gave a bright smile meant just for him.

“Good morning, I wasn’t expecting you today, or even this early.”

“Good morning,” Tony returned to the omega who was probably around his age. Jarvis and Vision whistling together in greeting as well. “I was actually wondering if you, perhaps, knew where the blacksmith was located?”

She eyed him curiously, most likely wondering why he of all shifters had asked her that question. From somewhere behind her Scott bounced over with excitement that shouldn’t be capable at this hour. “Blacksmith! Blacksmith, blacksmith, can I?”

Mrs Parker ruffled his hair affectionately. “Not right now, Darling. Perhaps later.”

A puff of his cheeks and a stubborn nod and the child ran back inside the building.

They watched him go, a pang of longing in Tony’s chest. Mrs Parker took a moment to think something over before finally answering him. “The blacksmith is located just beyond here. Keep following the road further and it’s going to be on your left. Can’t miss it. The smoke will give it away.”

“That way?” Tony confirmed, pointing at the direction.

“Just keep walking. It’s not far from here. Say hello to the blacksmith for me, won’t you?”

Friend, perhaps? Perhaps doing so would earn him favors when finally asking the blacksmith if he could work. “I will. Thank you, Ma’am.”

“May, please.”

“Tony,” he offered in return and with a short nod Tony turned away and trotted down the path he was directed, wanting to hurry and avoid barely waking eyes. He scanned the surroundings, searching for his goal amongst the many undistinguished buildings around. Surely the blacksmith had set up a sign of sorts or added something unique to the outfit of his work space in order to tell bystanders that he was the town’s household items and weapons provider.

In the middle of his seventh step he had to stop, instincts nagging him that something was wrong. He scanned his surroundings, finding nothing amiss, but something was causing his nerves and the hair from the back of his neck to rise. A bit unbalanced he pushed through the feeling and continued down to where the blacksmith was supposedly located.

The more he walked the more he thought perhaps he missed the building entirely. He went down the right direction and even kept an eye out for the smoke Mrs Par - Mrs _May_ , had informed. He wasn’t losing his eyesight already, was he?

The familiar sound of metal against metal stopped him in his tracks. He’d recognize that sound anywhere, engraving it in his very soul, and it was coming from the one building made from nearly black wood that gave the image of a home made of ash. There was no visible smoke, but surely this was where the blacksmith was located.

One look around and he spotted a separate room from the building itself. A small sign on it saying ‘open.’ The sound was coming from there.

Squaring his shoulders, taking a deep breath, and trying to calm his nerves Tony entered the room with no door. Inside a male shifter stood behind an anvil, holding tongs and a hammer. His arm with the hammer was raised and ready to strike the pan his tongs were holding in place. By his side the furnace was lit with a small flame, the ashes flowing through the air. Tony inhaled the wonderful scent that made him feel instantly at home. The warmth, the grease, the smell of hot metal, oh how he had missed it. His love for creating had reignited like the flame in the furnace.

“Can I help you?”

Tony jumped, his nose picking up more than what the fire and metal had to offer. The faint scent of alpha leaked through the ashes and grease and all at once any hope he had at obtaining work disappeared in an instant. He had hoped that the blacksmith was a beta, prayed really, so he was given a chance to try. But if an alpha was in charge… what kind of alpha would even allow him near the equipment?

Deflated, Tony shook his head. “Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll be on my way.”

“Hold on a sec,” the alpha said, setting the pan down. “You came here for a reason, what you looking for?”

“Nothing, really, I was just hoping… for something. Doesn’t matter. H-have a good day.”

The alpha didn’t even let him take a step back, throwing his equipment down and removing his gloves before crossing his arms and giving a vibe that he wasn’t going to let Tony leave until he got an answer. “Listen, you obviously came in here with something in mind. If you’re not looking to buy are you looking to repair? What about that thing in your bag?”

Vision released a high pitched sound in insult from being referred to a ‘thing.’ The alpha wasn’t expecting that and even jumped a little. “What the -?”

Tony quickly turned the side of his body carrying Vision away. “No, no repairs needed. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come in here.”

The alpha seemed to be over his shock. “Then why did you come here for?”

“It’s nothing important. I just had this stupid idea in my head, that’s all.”

“If it got you in here it can’t be nothing important. What did you have in mind?”

Tony sighed and looked down. The alpha was persistent and Tony was alone. If he frustrated him to the point of angering there would be a huge possibility the alpha would lash out. He couldn’t risk it, not when he had Jarvis and Vision. “I came in here to ask if you required an - an assistant, or some help…”

“You came looking for work,” the alpha stated, clearly surprised by the reveal.

“I did,” Tony sighed. “I’m sorry for wasting your ti -”

“What can you do?” the alpha interrupted, throwing Tony off. Was he hearing what he thought he was hearing?

“I - I can work with most everything. I’ve got some experience. I - I,” he stuttered.

“Smelting?”

“Y-yes.”

“Forging?”

“Yes.”

“Know your way around tools?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Something you don’t know to do?”

Tony paused. The one thing he didn’t want to do could be the reason he wouldn’t be given the work. What blacksmith didn’t make weapons, the number one sold item that brought in the coin? No one would hire him if he were to say it, but if he didn’t he’d have no choice but to create weapons to sell… he couldn’t, not again. “I don’t build weapons.”

The alpha scratched his chin. “Don’t know how or -?”

“I don’t.”

“Reason for it?” When Tony nodded the alpha continued. “I’m not going to ask. Your history is your history and if you experienced something that’s kept you from making weapons than that’s your business. Just, indulge me for a moment, would you? You don’t have to give me an answer if you don’t want to.”

Tony eyed him warily.

“That friend of yours, did you built him?”

The instinct to hide Vision away flared up. It was a simple question, but the alpha was still a stranger and still an alpha and Tony had no idea what he was capable of, and if the alpha suddenly had an interest on his little machine who knew what he would do to him.

“Whoa, calm down,” the alpha lifted his hands up. “I mean no harm, just curious. If your friend is a sensitive subject I’m not going to touch it. It’s just, if you did built him, that’s some mighty fine smithing skills you’ve got there. I get the feeling you’re capable of more than what I have to offer working. And I also get the feeling that you’re qualified as more than an assistant, am I right?”

Tony swallowed heavily. No matter what answer he gave there was a pro and a con for it. He could gain work, but also risk getting used, or he could not gain work, but risk getting blackmailed. What was he to do?

“Well,” the alpha started while he was in the middle of his turmoil, “obviously you’re worried about something, so I’m going to get back to work. If you come to a decision let me know because the work is yours if you want it.”

Time stopped moving for a moment. “I-it is? Even though I won’t make weapons?”

“Sure is. You let me handle those pesky weapons and focus on anything else that comes in. You’d be surprised how many shifters bring their dented kitchenwares in here. You’ll have hours assigned on just them.”

“A-are you sure?” Tony still couldn’t believe it.

“Questioning my judgement?”

“N-no! No, I didn’t mean -”

“Then think on it. Work is yours if you want it. Just show up and we’ll work out the kinks of our agreement. Days you’ll come in and what you accept and what you don’t. No need to worry you’ll be working on some shady business.”

It was almost too good to be true. Tony could decide? “So I just come any day?”

“The day you decide to start working, yes. I’m in no hurry.”

The heavy weight of guilt he carried was suddenly lifted. He finally had work and possible revenue. He felt so _light_. “Thank you, thank you so much, Sir.”

“Ben,” the alpha said. “Call me Ben.”

“Ben,” Tony repeated, smile on his face. “I’m Tony.”

“Nice to meet you, Tony. Looking forward to working with you.”

“As am I. I can’t thank you enough.”

“You thank me any more and I’ll end up getting an ego. My mate will throw me a batch of her burning rolls if she realizes it.”

Rolls? No… is it possible? “May Parker?”

“That’s her. Met her already, have you?”

Ben was May’s alpha, they were mated, someone who managed to win May’s heart surely wasn’t capable of doing wrongs. _Surely_. “She actually wanted me to tell you hi for her.”

The love and adoration that came from Ben’s smile was almost too much. It reminded him of Steve. “Thank you for delivering the message. She’s gotten stubborn about visiting this place, worried Scott might poke around and get hurt. Don’t blame her for it, but it does make me miss the moments she used to bring me baked goods. Gave me something to look forward to.” With that Ben put his gloves back on and grabbed the hammer on the anvil. “Best get back to work.”

Tony agreed. More souls were waking up as they talked and it was better he get a moved on back to the mansion before anyone realized he was gone. “Thank you, again. I promise to work hard. Y-you won’t regret it, I swear.”

“Trust me, the only thing I’ll regret is letting you get away and losing you to some other blacksmith, like Osborn. He works the town over. Stubborn man, that one.”

“I swear I won’t go gallivanting,” Tony teased, feeling lighthearted.

“Keep that promise and there’ll be rolls included in your payroll. Nothing like warm sweets after a hard day's work.”

“You can count me in on that.”

“Great, now get. Trade will be filled up in minutes. Best to leave now and avoid all those lines.”

“I’m not looking for trade but I best get going before my pack gets worried.” With a nod Tony turned away and exited the room. Just before disappearing from sight Ben offered one last final word of advice. “And Tony, I suggest not wearing that fancy outfit of yours. Hate for it to get all stained up. Looks like fine product.”

Tony walked with a bounce to his step, so much so that even Jarvis was springing up and down on his shoulder from his movement. In retaliation and annoyance Jarvis nipped his ear gently and Tony was mindful to control his steps after that. He was in such a good mood that it felt as if nothing could’ve ruined this moment, that was until an unsavory chill ran down his spine. He had passed May’s corner, unable to wave goodbye to her or Scott because they were away from sight, when an eery sense hit him. His instincts from before warning him of possible wrongs returned, but like before he found nothing amiss. He searched for the source long and hard, his senses on the verge of fear from the unknown.

All around him there was nothing out of the ordinary, but he couldn’t calm his instincts of something being wrong. With a deep breath he pushed on. Perhaps it was the town itself, or perhaps many shifters in one place and being alone amongst them was sending his senses in a frenzy.  Reaching the road and being away from the people might help calm his nerves.

He was careful to avoid eye contact with the many shifters he passed. The buildings were slowly disappearing now. The number of citizens decreasing along with it. His instincts calmed down with every step and with every breath until eventually he could walk easily. The road was empty and the wind rustling the branches and leaves and the running water was soothing to him. Music to his ears.

He basked under the shining sun, enjoying the sounds of the dirt and pebbles crunching under his foot. Then he felt Jarvis yank strands of his hair none too gently and his instincts began screaming all over again.

“Sir, remain calm, and do not turn around. I believe we are being followed.”

Tony’s blood ran cold. The last words anyone wanted to hear.

“H-how many?”

He appeared as calm as he could, but on the inside panic had already set in. His chest constricted. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins.

“I count five. They are watching us.”

Without thinking he made the mistake of turning his head to take a look. Like Jarvis had said there were five shifters walking together. Tony’s heart sank when he caught the eyes of the shifter leading the small group and earned a wink and a terrifying grin from him.

He snapped his head forward again, heart racing and legs trembling.   

“J-Jarvis,” he whispered hoarsely, pleading.

“Hide amongst the trees. Escape their sights,” Jarvis said while pressing himself against Tony’s neck, trying his best to comfort him.

He was on the verge of tears. He could make a break for it. Shift and run as fast as he could and reach the trees. Use them as cover and slow the shifters down.

It terrified him to no end knowing he was completely alone and being hunted.

“Sir, now.”

Tony rushed to the trees just a distance away, jumping over the running water. He could obscure his scent and use the trees to have them running in circles should they chase him. He could keep them at bay until he was close enough to his pack to call for help, to have his howl echo and be heard.

He was shaking, the fear of knowing what would happen if he was caught. No one would know of what happened to him except for the trees and the sky.

There was no color on him, he was sure of it. He was probably as pale as the white pants he was wearing. _Paler_ , really. _Why were these shifters even eying him for,_ he wanted to scream to the sky. Before, they wouldn’t have batted an eye on him, he was sure of it.

God, he wanted his pack, he wanted Brucie, the Hulk, _Steve_.

A deep breath, heart reaching his throat and adrenaline rushing in his veins, he made a mad dash through the trees. He couldn’t give them a chance. The trees thickened as he went further and he maneuvered as best as he could around them. At first he heard nothing except for his own footsteps crunching on fallen leaves. For a moment he thought he was free, thinking the shifters decided not to do anything and leave him be. He should’ve known better. False hope nearly shattered him when the telltale signs of multiple footsteps echoed behind him.

He passed tree after tree, pushing harder than he had ever pushed before. He needed to get closer, he needed to gain as much distance from the town as he could and as close to the mansion as possible. His howl could travel long distance. All of the canine shifters’ howls could travel far. If he could just reach them he could have his pack rescue him.

_Please, please, please, please, please, please…_

The footsteps got closer and Tony was on the verge of shifting to his wolf in a last attempt to gain distance, but as if fate sensing his last effort it decided he had evaded it long enough. Someone grabbed the back of his coat and pulled, slowing him down just enough for them to pin him on the ground. He struggled against the culprit, grabbing dirt in his attempt to claw free and even throwing some of it on his attackers face.

From above Jarvis was flying and trying to claw what he could reach. He was aiming for the attacker’s face, scratching and pecking and screeching in anger. Vision was struggling to release himself from the bag he was in, shouting obscenities that the attacker didn’t understand.

The attacker, a stubby looking alpha with a putrid smell and unshaven face, growled, swatted at Jarvis and pinned Tony’s arms over his head. “Little omega, I caught ya fair and square. No more games.” The horrid alpha then leaned in to smell Tony’s neck. Tony moved as far away as he was able to, but it didn’t do any good. “Look at ya, I haven’t seen yer face around. Think I’d remember such a pretty little thing like ya with that ass ya carry on ya. Oh, I’m gonna enjoy this.”

Behind the putrid alpha four others appeared. Tony’s heart sank.

“Caught this one myself first, boys. Ya gonna have to wait yer turn.” That warranted a laugh and Tony began struggling. He didn’t want this. _He didn’t want this._

Tears began building but that only seemed to pleased them. “Yer even more beautiful crying. Cry for us, omega.”

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. “Get off!”

“What was that? Get on with it? Ya heard that, boys?”

 _No, no, no, no, no, no, no,_ “Get off!”

Above them all Jarvis was still in the air and he was squawking and screeching and crying, echoing his voice through the forest and asking for help. Vision was doing the same, growing louder and louder to the point of overpowering Jarvis and even hurting his attackers’ ears.

“The hell is _that_?”

“Shut it up!”

“Throw it in the river, get it out of the way.”

“No!” Tony cried, “get off, _get off!_ Get off of me!”

“We can’t do that, Puppet. Not until we get what we won. Can’t wait to taste ye. Bet ye’ll be the sweetest omega I’ve ever had.”

Bile threatened to rise to his throat. He should've run faster. He should've brought his gauntlets with him. He should’ve sent Jarvis to fly and get help for him. He should’ve done more to prevent this, but he didn’t. He _didn’t!_ And now he was going to get tainted worse than he already was. The Avengers were never going to bother with him again and Steve… Steve wasn’t going to even look at him.

_Please, someone, anyone, help me!_

“Be a good little omega and stay still.” His coat was pulled up. “I’ll treat ye nice and gentle.” The button of his pants was worked loose. “We all will. Fuck ye one at a time. Together, too, if ya want.” Zipper pulled down and Tony choked out a sob. “Best fuck ye’ll ever ha - _awk_!”

Footsteps patting, a ferocious growl, the weight of his attacker disappearing and his attacker crying in pain. Tony snapped his eyes open and cried from the pure relief he felt when he saw the giant golden wolf and the familiar smell that could’ve only been Steve biting and ripping through the attacker that had him pinned down. It wasn’t a simple fight that involved a threatening bite and growl and no blood spilling, no, Steve was outright ripping through the flesh of the shifter, breaking bone, going for his neck, showing no mercy. Wolf vs Man. There was only one obvious choice of who was going to win, and the attacker was given no chance to shift and fight back for a fair shot. Steve wasn’t giving him one. No, Steve grabbed hold of his arm and shook it uncontrollably, tearing and scarring, jumping for the man’s face the moment it was wide open and vulnerable. Steve didn’t stop. Not even when the alpha submitted.

The only reason the alpha survived was because Steve’s attention moved from him to one of the other attackers who dared shift and growl and challenged Steve. As Steve turned to face his new target Tony caught the briefest glimpse of his eyes. The blue that Tony admired was gone, swallowed completely by the blood red that appeared on alphas in a rage.

Tony watched in disbelief as Steve charged for the shifted wolf that most resembled a malnourished coyote. Sharp edges and appearing ill the wolf truly underestimated Steve and soon regretted challenging him, but regret was not going to stop Steve. The scent of blood filled the air along with absolute terror, and urine. Two of the three that remained took it upon themselves to try and challenge Steve together, hoping getting Steve outnumbered would favor their odds, but it only angered Steve further. The third did the wise decision and fled.

So strong was the smell that emitted from the fight that it had Tony gagging. And the sight of Steve fighting so savagely sent fear to his heart. If Steve were to direct his rage at him, there was no possibility Tony was going to survive.

He looked away, not daring to run and earn Steve’s attention faster. He smelled and heard the fight continue. The whines of his attackers and the cries of pain they created and Steve’s snarling and growling. The noises didn’t last long. Soon, they died down to nothing but quiet whimpers that eventually was joined by rushed and uneven footsteps that slowly disappeared. Tony steeled himself for what was to come next, ready to endure and ready to do what he could to give Jarvis and Vision a running chance.

The cold nose on his cheek and the accompanied whine nearly made him jump out of his skin, but when the blue of Steve’s eyes stared at him with concern and glistened with unshed tears Tony couldn’t stop the choked sob that escaped him.

“Tony,” Steve’s voice was laced with so much emotion that it cracked under the pressure. The alpha was no longer in a rage, and if not for the blood painting his snout and paws no one would have ever guessed he went through one and somehow managed to snap out of it on his own.

Another sob and Tony lunged to bury his face in the fur of Steve’s neck, wrapping his shaking arms around the wolf in desperation.

Steve held him closer by using his snout to tighten the hug. “Oh, God, Tony what did they do?”

Tony broke and the tears spilled without his control. He cried and cried, his sobs growing louder after every intake he managed. He cried from what nearly happened, cried because of what they had been so close to doing, cried because he had been so close to reliving the nightmare all over again, and cried because, for the first time in so long, someone stopped it. Someone stopped it and _saved_ him.

“Tony, shh, you’re safe, I’m here. They won’t hurt you, I promise. They won’t touch you again. You’re safe.”

Steve had come for him.

“You’re all safe.”

For _them_.

“Sir,” Jarvis said softly as he perched on one of Tony’s arms and tucked himself against his neck, comforting him.

Vision said nothing, choosing to roll as close as he could on Tony’s side while still in the bag.

The sob he released from the pure solace was the loudest of them all. The tears the largest.

“You’re safe, you’re safe, Tony, I swear. You’re safe,” Steve repeated over and over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this one took longer than I originally thought. Gotta love family. They always want your attention.  
> Now then, as usual hope you enjoyed this, even if it has the nasty little element towards the end and sort of on a cliffhanger. Let me know what you thought! 
> 
> This is about to hit the 100k word count. Can you believe it? Who here remembers reading this when it was only around 10k or less? Anyone? Those readers still around?
> 
> 8/17/17 - Change a lot of the part where Tony was being followed. I wasn't completely satisfied with the way it had been before, and I feel this one makes more sense in this situation.


	20. Heart of the Pack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Startled to see an update, ey?  
> Have some fluff and realizations. Enjoy!

Some time later, when the tears dried up and he was able to breathe properly and calmly, Tony found himself on his back with the golden wolf that was Steve on top of him, blanking him from the world. Jarvis was nuzzled up on his shoulder and Vision by his side near his hip. They were quiet, giving Tony the silent comfort and protection he desperately needed. Tony was thankful for it. 

“I'm sorry,” he said eventually, apologizing for everything that had happened. 

He heard Steve sigh and bury his snout in between his shoulder and neck, his fur tickling his ear. “Please, don't apologize for this. None of it is your fault.” 

“If I hadn't left without a word, if I hadn't been rash and left town none of it would've happened.” And it was true. If only Tony had been more careful… 

“I was…” Steve's voice quivered a bit. “I was so  _ scared _ when I realized you weren't home. So… so terrified when no one knew where you were.” 

“I'm sorry -” 

“ _ Please _ , let me finish.” 

Tony nodded, wisely keeping shut. 

“When we all found you weren't home and none of us could find you I was so scared. You didn't mention anything to anyone of where you were going that I thought for sure you left us, left the pack, and I couldn't figure out why. Did we do wrong by you? Did one of us say something to make you leave?” 

Tony’s breath hitched when he put together where this was heading and what Steve meant. 

“Y-you left and I didn't know why and all that went through my head was that I had lost you again and it nearly broke me. You were only gone for a couple of hours but my whole world was nearly torn apart from just that.” 

Tony's heart chipped away from how Steve sounded. “No, Steve that's not why… I just went to town for something… I never meant to make you think that.” 

“I get it, I do, but I just couldn't stop thinking it. If you had left us I just… I don't think I could've recovered from it.” 

“Steve…” 

“I rushed out the door when I realized you had only taken your bag. All your clothes were still in your room and I thought maybe you went out for a walk, but I couldn't find you anywhere. Going to town was the last option and I prayed all the way that I'd catch up to you on time to convince you to give us another chance.” 

Tony burrowed his fingers deeper into Steve's fur, silently thanking whatever instinct made Steve head for town in search of him. Otherwise he'd be in the middle of something he didn't want to think about. “I'm sorry for worrying you.” 

“When I heard Jarvis and Vision screeching I thought the worse. I was so scared for you when I saw those bastard shifters on you. All I could see was red.” 

Tony inhaled Steve's clean scent. A huge contrast to what the putrid alpha smelled of. It soothed him, made him feel safe. And he knew with Steve covering him he was truly safe. 

There was an evident tremble from Steve. “I can still see them on you. I can still see their faces, the smiles they had as they watched you cry. I understanding wanting to do errands on your own, wanting to be independent, but I can’t stop imagining something happening to you. And after today? I c-can’t - I can’t let you out of my sight. I’m sorry. I’m going to be patronizing for the next few days.” 

Tony imagined having Steve within sight on every minute of every hour of every day just for the sake of keeping watch over him and mindful of any dangers. It sounded like a hassle. He probably won’t have any privacy in the near future, but Steve was doing so out of worry, wanting him safe. Steve cared. 

“Won’t the Captain be needed elsewhere?” Tony muffled into the golden fur. 

“Bucky can handle whatever the Captain is needed for. You’re more important to me.” 

There was a sniffle, but they couldn’t tell from who it came from.

“I-I’m still sorry, about not telling anyone where I went. I wasn’t leaving the pack, I swear. There was another reason why I left for town.” 

Steve released a whine. “What possible reason was there for you to travel alone to town? You can still be independent while having someone watch your back. No wait, you don’t have to tell me. It doesn’t matter. Just understand that I’ll be wanting to go along with you to town from now on. Me and some of our packmates.” 

Tony’s heartbeat quickened. It wasn’t fair for him not to reveal the truth after everything that had occurred. Steve cared for his safety, that was obvious, He wouldn’t take advantage of Tony’s skills. He didn’t with the rest of their packmates and he wouldn’t with Tony. And even if he were to still try and keep it a secret it was evident it was going to be impossible with Steve and their packmates accompanying him to town. 

“I was… I -” he took a deep breath, inhaling Steve’s alpha scent and gaining courage. “I went to ask for work at… at the blacksmith.” 

For a moment Steve made no sound as he let the information sink in. Once he decided to speak Tony, somewhere deep in the part of him that still believed the alpha capable, feared he was going to demand weapons from him on the spot, but instead all the alpha said was “Did Ben give you the work?” 

A weight he didn’t know he carried lifted off him. “He did. I start whenever I want.” 

“That’s great, Tony.” Steve sounded genuinely happy for him. His tail even wagged with excitement. “I’m sure Ben will give you reasonable work. May keeps him level headed so there’s no unfair treatment there.” 

“You think?” 

“I know. They’re good folks and I’m glad you’ll be working with him,” Steve gave him an encouraging lick at the tuffs of hair he could reach. “Is blacksmithing something you enjoy?” 

Steve sounded curious. Not a sign of ill-intent in his voice. “It is. I loved creating. You could say I grew up with a hammer and a pair of tongs in my hand.” 

“Did you come from a family pack full of blacksmiths?” Steve lifted his head and the pure joy and wonder in the alpha’s blue eyes was nearly blinding, and somehow simply learning something new about Tony was enough to make Steve appear like that. 

“No, I - I…” this wasn’t Hammer or Obie, this wasn’t Hammer or Obie, this wasn’t Hammer or… or  _ Stane _ . This  _ wasn’t. _ “My childhood pack wasn’t made up of blacksmiths, more like it was led by one well-known blacksmith that made a fortune with it. I grew up with the title expected of me.” 

Steve tilted his head sideways. “Was the title forced on you? Did you even want to be one?” 

“I did,” Tony reassured. “I love creating and handling steel. I could spend hours just working on it.” 

A short pause. “I feel there’s a ‘but’ somewhere in there.” 

“The leader…” deep breath, “m-my  _ father…  _ created nothing but weapons.” 

Steve caught on. “And you didn’t just want to create weapons.” 

“There’s so much more you could create with iron and fire. More than just items to sell and hurt people. Equipment that can help with everyday life, aid with work, create new and improved tools, make a better future, the possibilities are endless. It’s not that I didn’t want to create weapons, I just wasn’t interested in them. I wanted to…” 

“You wanted to help,” Steve finished for him. Now that Tony was paying attention he noticed Steve’s head bobbing a little bit from the movement his wagging tail was causing. He was happy. “You wanted to make a difference, no?” 

“Yes, I wanted to create good things, helpful things. Not things that would…”  _ hurt the innocent. _

“And you will,” Steve said firmly. “You’ll create amazing things, incredible things, things that we could only dream of. I’m sure of it.” The alpha gave his chin a lick. “We’re all sure of it. The pack will support you every step of the way.” 

The alpha truly believed his own words. Steve wasn’t just saying it for the sake of trying to encourage him. Steve absolutely believed Tony was going to create those amazing things that could only be dreamed of. The pleasure that came from having his alpha have so much faith in him… Tony preened from the attention. 

“Although,” Steve gave his nose a lick, “I’m saying this now because I know our pack. They’ll demand answers as to where you went as soon as we get back.” 

A chill ran down his spine, settling in his bones. “Are you going to tell them about - about -?”  _ what nearly happened. _

“I won’t say a word if you don’t want me to,” Steve whined and tucked his snout again, “but our packmates are sharp. They  _ will  _ notice me more vigilant of you and will want to know the reason why. And because I’m doing it they’ll start doing it, too. If it’s important enough for the Captain to keep watch, it’s important enough for the Avengers to do it as well.” 

Tony understood that he was going to be smothered for the foreseeable future. Their packmates were not going to let him remain alone for long. 

There were worse ways he could spend his time. 

“Just promise me I won’t have someone follow me to bathe.” 

Steve’s ears perked up. “Well, I hold no promises.” 

It was said in a teasing manner, but it still resulted in Tony flushing, and it was still cheeky enough that Jarvis wasn’t going to let it go without action. The cockatoo shuffled over to the golden wolf’s head and yanked one of his ears. 

“All right, all right, no one will follow into the bath,” Steve chuckled, twitching his bitten ear to release it. A wet tongue licking the base of Tony’s hairline on the back of his neck soon started after Jarvis wandered back over to nest next to Vision. 

Nearly purring from getting partially groomed, Tony was sure if he had been shifted his tail would’ve been wagging. And in a daring moment with high spirits and trust for the alpha Tony felt his bones begin to change. The hands gripping fur soon became paws and his legs were bent inwards as his limbs shortened. Smells became heightened and distinguished and sounds became louder. 

When he finished shifting he waited for Steve to make a move. The alpha was still on top and tucked near his neck and surely felt the change happening. He knew what had just occurred and when he pulled back to take a good look there was no stopping his golden tail from moving absurdly fast and thumping on the ground. 

The alpha whined from pure happiness and Tony soon joined him when Steve began licking - no, not only licking -  _ grooming _ , the fur around his neck. Tony couldn’t resist exposing more of the area. His tail actually wagging. 

Tony, even shifted, still wore his clothes that were not meant to accommodate the shape of a wolf. Baggy and trapping him slightly they were awkward to take off, but eventually with Steve’s help he was able to tuck Jan’s gift to the side and lie down with his belly exposed for Steve to continue. The alpha seemed to be enjoying doing so. Not once grimacing or acting as if the affection was a chore. On a few occasions Tony would feel his own paws and hind legs twitch without his control when Steve groomed certain spots on his neck. It just felt so good, and it had been so long since someone had properly groomed him. He never wanted it to end. 

He released a huff that was followed by a grunt when Steve licked the spot on his neck usually chosen to leave a mark. Steve’s tongue went over the area three times before he sunk his teeth gently to nibble, biting away an itch, and Tony found… he wanted Steve to mark him. He wanted to belong to the alpha, to be his. 

But how to ask him? He didn’t want to assume Steve would want to. 

No, Tony shouldn’t push it. Steve was already grooming him. He shouldn’t ask for more. He was content with just Steve settling his fur. It was the most he had gotten regarding affectionate physical contact in years. It was enough. 

Perhaps one day he’d gain the courage to ask him, but today was not the day. 

Steve continued grooming him well past the time he had estimated going to town and returning to the mansion. He was lying on his belly now, Steve settled next to him and licking down his shoulder. His dark fur shined under the sunlight. The parts where Steve had worked on were no longer mangled, soothed in place and running smoothly over his figure. The work was nowhere near done, but Steve had done a reasonable job with the time given to him that was signalled to a stop when Tony’s belly rumbled in hunger. 

Steve stood proud over him, nodding in approval of his work. Tony himself stood in high spirit, feeling the most fulfilled he had in years. So much so that he couldn’t hold back wanting to lick Steve’s snout, and he did so with his tail wagging. The silent ‘thank you’ included with his show of respect. The gesture both confirming Steve as his leader and as his mate. The alpha pulled him closer in an awkward attempt at a hug while shifted. The whine and tail wagging of happiness not hard to miss. 

They both refused to shift back, content with traveling back home as wolves. Tony sent a silent apology to Jan as he stuffed his gifted outfit in his bag, Steve helping fold them as best as his teeth and paws would allow. The alpha threw the bag over himself, not giving Tony a chance to take it for the journey back. Jarvis hopped onto his own back and settled near his shoulders. Vision followed happily besides them, keeping up with no trouble and every now and then bumping gently against Tony’s hind legs, demanding attention that both Tony and Steve happily gave. A careful swipe of their paws was enough to sate the little machine and he continued down the path back home. 

Some time during the walk Steve sneaked closer to press his flank against Tony’s and had their tails intertwined together. The equivalent of hand holding as wolves. The warmth that seeped through into Tony’s fur was pure delight and reassurance and he knew, trusted, that anything the world threw at them at that moment, Steve would protect them with every fiber of his being. 

He knew the same saying fell on their packmates as well. Though it was shocking to see it in person, the sight of every, single, one of them standing by the road near the mansion and pacing back and forth with concerned and impatient expressions was enough to nearly make Tony’s eyes water. And the pure relief they expressed when they noticed the two wolves making their way towards them was the sole reason one or two tears escaped him. 

His Brucie was the first one to reach them and the stern glare he gave Tony was every bit as comforting as Steve’s hug. 

“I think we need to renegotiate the deal we made together to include telling each other where the other will go alone to.” Bruce kneeled down and gently tapped Tony’s nose. “You are not allowed to do that again, Mister.” 

Tony drooped his ears slightly. “Trust me, after today it’s never going to happen.” 

There was a flicker in Bruce’s eyes, a flicker that signalled he wanted to ask but decided against it with everyone present. Brucie was going to demand answers, he was sure of it, but thankfully when they were alone. That was, if Tony was going to have a moment alone. From the way Steve’s flank was still pressed against him he figured the alpha was going to remain true to his words and stick to him like a limpet. 

Behind Bruce the rest appeared, Clint being amongst the first and looking scandalized at the entire ordeal. “You,” he pointed an accusing finger at Tony, “I thought we were packmates for life. I thought we had something special, and then I go and wake up with you nowhere to be seen and no idea of where you could’ve gone and I never felt so betrayed in my life -” 

Both Natasha and Sam appeared on either side of Clint and together pushed him back and closed the space between them to hide the beta away. “What he means to say is, we’re glad to see you’re fine. You had us all worried,” Sam said. 

“Aye,” Thor included, now seeming to be towering on his two legs. “Your disappearance had caused a great rift within our pride and much heartbreak for our leader. Loki, as well, had shared in our misery.” 

Loki glared at the feline shifter. “I did no such thing.” 

“Oh, Tony,” Jan interrupted before kneeling to give Tony a hug. “I don’t know what any of us had said or done to make you wonder off without letting us know but I swear I’m going to give them a smack or two for doing so.” 

“What if you were the one to do so, Jan?” Hank said with a scratch of his chin. 

“Then I’ll give myself a well-deserved smack for hurting his feelings.” 

Tony chuckled before pulling back to look at the beta still hugging him. “I swear, it was nothing like that. No one hurt my feelings or pushed me over the edge or anything. I wasn’t leaving the pack, I promise. I’m sorry for making you think that.” 

“Oh thank the blue skies up above,” Clint lifted his arms up, praising the blue skies, it seemed. “He’s not leaving us.”

Tony whined softly. “I - I left this morning to head to town for work.” 

Bruce and Loki quirked an eyebrow simultaneously, coming to one conclusion and waiting for it to either be confirmed or denied. Everyone else, minus Steve, waited expectantly for him to further detail it. 

“And?” Jan encouraged, “did you find some work for yourself?” 

Tony gave them each a stare, gave his packmates a regarding glance. He could trust his packmates. He wasn’t the only one unique with skills, as Loki had said. They each had a profession and not one of them abused the other’s talents. They wouldn’t demand something of him against his will. He knew this. “Ben agreed to share some of his projects with me.” 

It was Sam who figured it out first. “Our  _ blacksmith  _ Ben?” 

“I didn’t know you could smith,” Clint sounded in awe, but not the type of awe that came from someone who just realized they could gain something with the newly revealed information. More in awe at having just discovered something very interesting with their curiosity sated and nothing else. 

“That’s wonderful, Tony.” Jan gave him another hug in congratulations. 

Bruce and Loki, having their conclusion proven correct, nodded approvingly, but didn’t look completely satisfied. Probably had something to do with the fact that he still hadn’t revealed to their packmates everything. 

“Now that this has all been settled, shall we return, or do you still wish to continue consolidating Anthony’s worth?” Loki said dryly, appearing every bit annoyed as he was acting to be, but his eyes showed nothing of it. Tony was amazed with himself for being able to notice. It was a subtle difference, but Loki’s eyes weren’t as dark as they usually tended to be when bored with the pack’s antics. His eyes were brighter, more focused, keeping watch for any important detail to pass. “It has been a tiresome morning and I, for one, wish to return to my practice.” 

The others must have seen it, too, must have always been able to tell from Loki’s eyes the truth behind his words. None of them took his attempted exasperation to heart, not even Bruce. But they did agree to return back to their home. Just standing in the middle of the road unarmed was a very bad idea so they walked back to the mansion together. Steve still flanking him and now their entire pack creating a circle around them. 

Inside, while he felt secured and attended to with his pack all around, the day’s activities were catching up with me. Waking up bright and early and making two journeys to and from town all while having an empty stomach made him collapse on the ground in the middle of the couches. There might have been a warm and soft bed waiting for him on the second floor, but the temptation wasn’t enough. Not even the solid floor was able to encourage him up the stairs. 

The floor was there and he was already lying on it and Steve was already back from making a quick trip to the kitchen and in his mouth he carefully held a plate of cooked ham slathered with delicious juice and placed it carefully in front of him on the floor. All he had to do was reach out and bite into it and while he was doing that Steve was circling around him with his tail wagging before he curled around, tucked his front legs under Tony’s side and his head on Tony’s shoulder. Jan, bless her, brought a small bowl filled with nuts and fruits for Jarvis.

Everyone left while they were eating except for Steve, who decided to continue what he was doing before. He found the spot he left off and began grooming. Tony sighed upon the first contact. Delicious food while getting groomed after being supported by his entire pack? He must have been dreaming. It certainly felt like it. These things never happen to him together, if ever at all. 

And for a moment he actually thought it all a dream. 

He had woken up groggy and disoriented like every shifter and wild animal usually tended to do. His mind didn’t catch up with his surroundings, but his memories were clear as day and he remembered the visit to town, Ben giving him work, Steve coming to his rescue and their pack congratulating him. Too good to be true so naturally he had thought it all a dream and his heart sank. That was until he heard a sniffle on top of him and he found himself nose to nose with Steve’s sleeping wolf form. Then his mind caught up and all around him were the Avengers in their shifted forms, minus Bruce. 

The other omega was resting right in front of him, on top of pillows and blankets with a red fox that could’ve only been Natasha curled over his chest. Over them was Thor, all golden and dark mane and rumbling in his sleep with the black python that was Loki splayed across his figure, head hidden in the fur. Bucky was in the middle of Tony and Thor, sleeping with his belly up to the sky. Below Tony were Jan, Hank, Sam and Clint. The two dingoes and the coyote and jackal were tucked into a ball with their respective mates. 

Another pack pile and this time with Tony shifted, strengthening his role amongst them. Everything he had supposedly dreamed of was true. It had sincerely happened, and it had come all together into a bonding pile.

The pure happiness he felt almost threatened to burst out of his chest. He wanted to howl it out and show the world. Perhaps one day he’d be able to do so at night with Steve. He shouldn't push his luck, but he could happily imagine it. 

He nearly howled on the spot from the combination of sheer shock and joy when Steve presented him a gift a few weeks later. 

True to his word, Steve kept by his side everywhere he went. He waited by the door in the mornings, walked with him to breakfast, joined him on his trip to Hattan (along with literally all their packmates) to speak with Ben about the work, sat next to him during their time of relaxation on the couches, but like promised Steve didn’t follow him to bathe. He did, however, wait for him near the stairs for the walk back when he finished. 

It was - it was almost suffocating how many times Steve was always present and near him. His scent was everywhere. Tony wasn’t able to escape it. Every intake he took of his alpha musk always left him warm and content and he loved every second of it. The protective suffocation included. All the touches the alpha gave, all the kisses, the hand holding, the grooming, Tony cherished every moment of it. It was everything he had always imagined for himself, all brought forth by the Captain, leader of the Avengers, by Steve Rogers. The alpha was slowly winning his old, tired, and broken heart. What little of it was left. 

Then, the alpha slowly pulled away. Tony couldn’t figure out the reason why. Bruce, Jan and Clint began making more appearances than Steve. In the mornings Steve still waited and greeted him. He still joined him on his trips to the smithy, but quickly disappeared when Tony and Ben started working. He reappeared again for the walk back home, bid his farewells, and again disappeared to who knows where and left him in the company of the omega and two betas. 

The shift from constant to barely there wasn’t sudden, and Tony wouldn’t have noticed at first if not for his recently accustomed habit of reaching out to grasp Steve’s hand and always expecting it to be near. Instead of grabbing the alpha’s his hand closed around Bruce’s instead. After that he noticed the increasing lack of Steve, and it hurt to watch it happen. His heart had been invested. Every broken piece. If possible those pieces broke even further the more the alpha pulled away. He couldn’t even take walks around the mansion to help ease the sorrow that built. Bruce, Jan and Clint were adamant to spend their time indoors. 

On one specific day they were downright stubborn about letting him near the doors. Thankfully he had no work on that day, Ben having ordered him not to show up, but after so many days inside the urge to run around and breathe in fresh air was strong, but the omega and two betas were stronger. 

“You are not going out there. Not until it’s time,” Jan had said, looking stern. 

Tony had no idea what she was referring to, but he wisely kept still inside, even if his instincts to go out were itching under his skin. 

The hours that followed were uneventful until noises of metal against metal began to start from the outside. There was trembling from the floor, someone shouting orders, and three packmates trying their damnedest to look innocent but ultimately failing. 

The door soon opened after the noises died down and in came Steve, sweaty and breathing heavily but looking very excited. “Tony,” he said before leaning down and giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Come on, I want to show you something.” 

Tony went willingly, hand gripping Steve’s a little tighter than necessary. They rounded the front of the mansion, Steve coming to a brief halt when they were about to pass the corner. “Close your eyes, Tony.” 

He frowned, confused and a little worried if he was honest. “Why?” 

“It’s a surprise. Close your eyes. Trust me.” 

Tony did so, still concerned and now walking blindly as Steve dragged him around. A few steps forward and he heard additional footsteps that didn’t belong to him or Steve. Some from behind, which he figured were Bruce, Jan and Clint. Some in front that he guessed were the rest of their packmates. 

“Just a couple of more steps. Almost there. Got to find the perfect spot for you to see it all. Here, this will do. All right, now stand here - a little more to the left, and - ready. You can open your eyes now.” 

He did and the first thing he noticed was Steve standing by the side with a grin. Once his mind registered that  yes that was, in fact, Steve, he noticed what was  _ behind _ the alpha. His eyes slowly widened and his mouth parted open. He took two shaky steps forward, his gaze tracing the the surface of stone and steel and iron. The anvil resting beautifully on a block of stone. The forge pressed on the ground near the wall of the mansion with stone creating a layer to separate wood from steel and rock. A rack holding different number of tongs and hammers and a gorgeous grinder placed near it. 

Tony had to blink several times in order to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. That in fact his eyes were not deceiving him and Jarvis was really nesting on top of the forge and Vision was circling the anvil. 

“It’s not done yet. We still need to plan the room that goes around all this. Help keep the flames going and prevent any rain from touching your tools. Just so happens Sam, Thor and Ben are skilled carpenters so we’ll get that room ready for you in no time,” Steve said, but all Tony had heard was the ‘your’ part. 

This was his. This entire collection of smithy tools were his. They were giving this to him. All of them. Their entire pack helped set it up. Steve had been busy putting all this together. 

Their packmates were all waiting eagerly for his response, hell, even Ben was present, all with grins and all waiting for him to react. All he could do was turn to Steve with the expression that appeared on him upon the first sight of the anvil. 

“Surprise, I hope you like it,” Steve’s eyes were brighter than the sky. 

Tony had no response. The only thing he could do was take two slow steps to the alpha before dashing forward, jumping the small distance and causing them both to tumble down on the ground. He kissed Steve fiercely, hoping to convey everything he felt through it. How happy, how thankful, how much he just - how much his heart was invested in him. It belonged to him. Every little broken piece Steve owned, truly. 

“I take it you like it?” Steve asked after they separated for air. 

Tony kissed him again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, let me take a moment to do this. I'm not asking for much. This is my second fic that's reached the 100k mark and to celebrate all I want is for you wonderful readers to comment and let me know, what made you click on this fic and give it a try?  
> What have you been enjoying of it?  
> Any absolute favorite part(s) you've read?  
> What made you decide to stick around and continue reading? 
> 
> I'd really love to know what you're all thinking so far of this fic and what you're looking forward to. Do take a few minutes to do so please.


	21. The Man of Iron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this one I admit fought me, a lot, but in the end I won and we've got a bit of progress!

Sweat trickled down his forehead and neck. His hair was stuck to his skin and his shirt wasn’t faring any better. Neither were his pants, to be honest. He striked on the anvil, the edges of his hammer just barely grazing over the handle of the ladle that had seen better years. Bent nearly in half, the ladle no longer looked like its former glory when the customer’s mother had acquired it, but a high number of usage prevented the customer from throwing it away simply because a young pup didn’t know what to play and what not to play with. 

Tony had nearly finished straightening the giant spoon. A strike to flatten the bend, a couple of gentle taps to manipulate the girth together and a quick dip in the water and the ladle was presentable again. He studied his work, making sure there wasn’t a bump or a dent he had accidentally created with his tongs With a huff of approval he set the ladle down with the rest of the kitchenware he had worked on for the week. Another down, last one to go. 

The iron pot resting by his feet was simple work. One of the legs were missing the flat bottom that prevented it from wobbling about. A simple welding to replace it should do the trick. He placed the pot on his workbench, the flat bottom in hand and the burning steel rod in the other. Melting the two irons together was easy, making sure the pot didn’t move about while in the middle of it was the hard part. That was if it should even be considered hard. 

A set of new hands grabbed the base of the pot and placed holds to keep it still. Ben gave him the go ahead once he was done. Tony thanked him and began welding the two together. 

A couple of minutes later Ben chuckled and sat on one of the few chairs in the room, pointing to something to Tony’s far left. “And how long have you been sitting there?” 

Steve grinned and gave a little wave when Tony finally noticed him. “Got here little over an hour ago. Got the urge to sketch the beauty in front of me.” The alpha lifted his drafting pad for emphasis all while looking at Tony. 

Tony silently thanked the fire that was nearby, allowing him to pass the flush that crossed his cheeks on the flames. Shortly after revealing his love for smithing, Steve had revealed his love for sketching. The alpha was very talented in capturing the sights before him as evident of the many pieces he had offered to show Tony. Some were of nature, and mountains and the sky. Others were the streets and buildings of towns with the citizens included. Most were of their packmates in various stances and expressions and different in details. The rest… were all of him. 

Some included Jarvis and Vision from the moments he talked to the pair or helped the cockatoo groom his feathers or washed the dirt and grass stains from his little machine’s circular body. Others were simply of him staring at the distance with different expressions, putting detail on the shadows and his hair and his eyes. Some he was smiling, some he was focused, and some he was even asleep. Those were for the facial close ups. 

The ones that included his entire figure, from his shoulders to his toes, really helped him realize how much he had changed over the months of having the Avengers as his pack. He had images to compare his past self to his present, and because of Steve’s sharp eye for detail and his skilled hand he was able to capture the changes that occurred. The way his clothes draped over his body loosely, the way his cheekbones were evident and sharp, how long his hair had been in the first few weeks before Jan took it upon herself to give him a proper cut. As the pages were turned his figure began to change. His body filled out, as did his face, his clothes fitted his frame and his hair had shape in it besides the mop that formed after months of it being unattended to. He looked new, healthy, and above all happy. Steve’s biggest strength came from the work he placed on the eyes. They were so life-like, the emotion of the moment sketched for everyone to see. As the pages continued Tony’s eyes became brighter, full of life, no longer filled with anguish and sorrow that the first few pages captured. 

Tony discovered how expressive his eyes truly were thanks to those sketches and he saw what Steve had seen from the start. He had to wonder what the alpha saw in him to even give an attempt at courting him. What compelled Steve to devote time and energy on someone with visible grief?

“You’re doing it again, Sweetheart.” 

Tony blinked, frowning slightly at Steve’s statement. “Doing what?” 

“You’re overthinking things again. Remember I told you your nose scrunches up all adorably every time you think of something too hard? You were just doing it.” 

“I was not.” 

“You were, and now you’re in denial. Your nose scrunches up when you’re trying to deny something, too.” 

Now that he was focused on it Tony realized Steve was telling the truth. He felt himself scrunch his nose, denial on the tip of his tongue. He forced his nose to relax and glared at the alpha, pouting purposefully. 

Steve grinned. “And now I know I’m right about it. You pout when you realize I’m winning an argument.” 

“Now that’s just not fair. You have no tells I can use.” 

“You sure about that?” Ben said, smirking at the pair. “Far as I can tell, that wolf right there has it all drawn on his face. Those eyes are the biggest tells he has, and let me tell you, they reveal so much when he’s looking at you. He cares to the point of it being painful to look at.” 

Steve wasn’t close enough to the flames for his flush to be blamed on the heat, but he wasn’t going to leave it alone. “Can you blame me? Besides, I’m not the only one going through a sickenly sweet phase. I see the way you get when May is mentioned.” 

The fondness in Ben’s eyes truly was sickenly sweet. “Years later and I can’t seem to get over that phase. Something about her just makes me love her more everyday. You understand that feeling?” 

Tony tried imagining it, imagining the essence of love, the passion and devotion, growing stronger with each passing day instead of slowly fading. With Hammer he never came close to feeling a trickle of it, never believed himself capable with that alpha, especially after he tried forcing himself to. He believed the pain would lessen if some form of love had been present, but never once did he feel anything remotely close. But with Steve? Oh, his heart sped up with the mere thought. He believed it possible with him. His heart swelled up every time the alpha did something considerate and unexpected to what Tony believed, and Steve was full of surprises in that regard. 

He wanted what Ben and May had, and maybe with Steve he could finally have it. 

“I’m starting to,” Steve answered Ben while looking directly at Tony, eyes shining and soft. 

Tony averted his own, unable to hold Steve’s gaze long and also unable to stop himself from giving a bashful smile with his heart skipping beats. Recently the alpha had started looking at him with deeper emotion, with so much tenderness and devotion and - and a gaze that was associated to looking at someone worth cherishing, worth being treasured, everything Tony had hoped to be given. However, imagining and wanting it and actually being at the end of receiving it were two different things and he was so unused to it that he had no idea what the first step in handling it could be. Was he to react? To return the gaze? Say something? Say thank you? Profess undying love or so? 

His back was to Steve now, returning back to his work. It was the last one of the day and he didn't want to keep Steve waiting longer than required. He hurried through his work, mindful to still be precise. No matter the urgency, care was always important when welding. All through the manipulating of iron he felt a pair of eyes watching him intently and even without turning he could tell the piercing eyes came from Steve. For one thing, Tony was facing Ben and Ben was currently checking a finished commission of rifles for any defects, meaning the only other person in the room was the responsible one. For another, he felt the gaze the strongest from behind and seeing as Steve was the one sitting behind him it was a guarantee his eyes were watching every movement Tony made. And the gaze had done more than pierce, they were taking in every inch of his body, raking the surface of his skin and seeing through his clothing. His eyes were detailing, appreciating, and the sheer intimacy of it sent heat to pool down in his belly. 

Tony shifted when blood went farther south than required. Recently his body had started acting up in frequent intervals, the most it had in years. The number of times his southern region had gained interest on its own in the past week outdid months with Hammer. If Tony had thought the first time his body got active during his first bath in the mansion was a shock, it was nothing compared to the recent weeks. And more often than not it usually occurred in inappropriate times and always when Steve was present and just  _ looking  _ at him. 

He cursed his own body and tried to regain control by thinking of other less attractive things and doing his best to ignore the stare that practically undressed him. Steve was merely looking, his artistic eyes taking in details to sketch. It didn’t mean anything sexual, no matter how much Tony’s body seemed to think so. Didn't stop his libido from thinking it wanted a go, however, and it was becoming harder and harder to control, almost embarrassingly so. He didn’t know if the others had smelled his heated scent or not, they never pointed it out or asked him if he required something to… calm his urges. Didn't stop Tony nearly dying from the mortification of it. He hid in his little workshop for the sole reason of avoiding as much of it as he could. At least with the fires and ash and hot metal he had a means of obscuring his lustful scent.

He really hoped Steve didn't think little of him for it. An omega who couldn't control his own urges? Someone as wholesome as Steve would and should never look his way, let alone be within reaching distance, and yet Steve remained. 

He prayed this wouldn't change a thing between them as time went on. Maybe eventually Tony would get his body under control. This could've been a phase of sorts his body was going through because of the change in scenery,  _ something _ in the water, perhaps. Once he adjusted he was positive everything would go back to normal, but if Steve decided he didn't want an omega as whorish as Tony before then Tony didn't believe he'd survive the experience. Not after he'd gotten a taste of what being Steve's mate and being part of his pack, having a  _ family _ , felt like. 

He swallowed heavily as he gave one final adjustment to the pot, evidently rushing to cool it off in order to head out of the enclosed room and avoid the awkward situation of happily-mated Ben smelling his lust and embarrassing Steve in front of him. Fresh air would do him good and maybe help cool his urges. If anything he could run for the river and take a quick dip in order to scare the blood in his southern regions upward. 

He placed the pot along with the rest of his finished work, returned his borrowed tools back on their original spots and hanged his apron on one of the many hooks available that weren’t near the flames. He heard shuffling behind him, most likely Steve putting away his work and preparing for their journey back home. Without the alpha’s piercing gaze he was able to take a moment to will his body put and distract his mind on other things.

“I’ll see you in a few days, Ben,” Tony said to his fellow blacksmith. The alpha had given him three days off to enjoy without work. Three days that Tony was eagerly looking forward to. It was a chance to work on his own projects and he was itching to tweak his gauntlets to include a small rune that would act as a light source for the sole purpose of doing nothing but lighting up a path during the night. No more need of fire or lanterns or oil. The feature might end up positively worthless in the long run, but Tony  _ really  _ wanted his gauntlets to include it. One never knew when they would travel through dark caves or corridors or very dense woods, but mostly Tony wanted to use it to make finding Jarvis easier during the night when his room was the darkest. The damn cockatoo enjoyed being mischievous when Tony couldn’t see what he was doing. 

No more. 

He was going to add the feature and have light to use when the sun descended that wasn’t a candle that could be easily blown away if it was the last thing he’d do. 

“I expect you bright and early as always, Tony,” Ben said, picking up a hammer. “Enjoy your free time and don’t overdue it.” 

Tony nodded, nearly jumping on his toes in excitement to start working, and also in anticipation for later in the day. There was a full moon tonight with no sight or smell of rain approaching. The perfect night for a moon run and the pack agreed to get together for it. The first since Tony and Bruce joined. The first run together with his new pack that would strengthen their bond, show the desire to always find each other and show loyalty for one another.  Tony couldn’t wait.

Steve was already waiting for him outside. They bid Ben farewell together and walked the path back home. The late hour had the sun just at the horizon, hovering over the direction they were heading. A constant faithful companion for their journeys back. 

When they reached the beginnings of the trading location for the town and the number of shifters increased Steve wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulder and pulled him closer, scanning all around for any possible threats. Ever since the event that nearly happened on Tony’s first trip to town alone Steve had gained the instinctive habit of showing his ‘claim’ and keeping any unsavory interest away. No one would mistake Tony as a lone omega, not with Steve tucking him to his side and giving off the vibe of an alpha who could snap the moment someone even thought about getting close to them. 

Moments like these soothed Tony’s worries immensely and he couldn’t resist maybe resting the side of his face on Steve’s shoulder. At least for a moment. He had been working with fire and sweating up a river just minutes ago, after all. He didn't want to subject Steve to his awful smell for long. 

When the alpha leaned down to kiss his forehead he let out a soft sigh of contentment. Even with uncontrolled urges making unpredictable appearances Steve still hadn't pulled back or hinted being embarrassed by it. Tony really needed to do something fast and put it under control before the alpha decided to change his mind on the stance. 

Shifters who sensed Steve's possessive alpha vibes wisely kept their distance, subtly showing respect, but still watched them go. It was the leader of the Avengers walking by, after all. No one passed the opportunity to get a good look at him, especially those who were visiting Hattan for the first time. 

As they continued walking a couple of shifters choose to ignore Steve's warning vibes, seeming oblivious to them, really, and rushed to greet Tony, causing them to stop. The wide eyes of wonder on innocent and chubby faces made him want to coo and smile, but the fact that a total of six children were circling him made him a bit wary. Children were mischievous little tykes when grouped up. Anything could happen, especially if they were raised in a certain environment with a bigoted view. Even the Captain wouldn’t dare to put down a child, no matter how ill-behaved they were. 

A little girl, with the underlayer smell of omega that would soon bloom, openly stared at him, thinking, as if trying to understand him. She reached out with her hand but didn’t touch or grab, just held it there. Tony wondered if she wanted a hand shake. 

“Can we help you, little ones?” Steve said, keeping Tony close. 

“Are you the Captain’s omega?” asked one of the older kids, a beta in the making and with the same face as the little girl. Sibling, perhaps? 

Tony blinked, answer ready on his lips but hesitating at the last second. Old habit of his to never speak first when referred to as Hammer’s mate. He looked to Steve, unsure on what to say and wanting input from the alpha. All Steve did was nod encouragingly and gestured for him to keep going, as if he knew what Tony was going to say already and approving it. 

Tony smiled shyly. Steve  _ wanted  _ him to tell the kids, to announce it for all to hear. “I - I am.” 

If possible their eyes widened more. “You’re Iron Man!” They all cheered, making Tony and even Steve pause. Iron  _ what? _

Tony gaped, mouth opening and closing, trying to form words. “I-I’m who?” 

“Iron Man,” the older beta repeated. “The Captain’s omega. You make weapons for the Avengers using iron!” 

“Ma says you make armor for your mate to keep him safe,” the little omega girl said, eyes filled with what Tony now recognized as respect. “I want to make armor for my pack, too! I want to do what you do, Mister Iron Man.” 

All at once the kids started cheering the same as her, saying they wanted to weld and forge and make armors and fix things and basically do what all these things this Iron Man persona did. Tony had never heard of that title before, didn't even know it existed or how it was created. Surely the kids were referring to someone else. That would explain it, but the little detail of the ‘Captain’s omega’ created a hole for that argument. Unless Steve had another omega hidden somewhere that even their packmates didn’t know about, the kids were referring to Tony. 

“Hold on a second there,” Tony managed through their persistence, “where did you hear the name from?” 

“From ma,” the two he assumed were siblings said. 

“From my dad,” another said. 

“My aunt Eliza says you’re called Iron Man.” 

“My cousin says the same thing.” 

“My brother says Iron Man is the greatest omega blacksmith ever,” one child said determinedly, eyes twinkling.

Steve whistled in astonishment and even seemed to be nodding. “Does everyone call him Iron Man?” 

“They do!” 

As the children started up again with praising the Avengers and the Captain and the newly titled omega, Tony felt his mouth go dry. Questions were running through his head, questions of when the name Iron Man was first started, of who created it in the first place, of how many shifters used the name to refer to him, just in general questions involving him being viewed as a full pack member of the Avengers. He wasn’t just seen as a pack omega anymore, he was seen as an actual someone, as Steve’s mate, as a blacksmith, as a provider for his pack, as a shifter that pups looked up to, as… as  _ Iron Man _ . 

Was it possible to feel so  _ elated  _ from just knowing that? Otherwise he couldn’t explain the sudden urge to run around and jump off of walls and wag his tail uncontrollably. 

“Tony?” Steve shook his shoulders gently. “You there, Sweetheart?” 

“I am,” Tony nodded, smiling. “Just a bit… overwhelmed?” 

Not exactly the way he wanted to describe what he was feeling, but Steve seemed to understand either way. He tightened his hold momentarily with an encouraging grin before speaking to the gaggle of children. “Well, Iron Man and I need to get going. We’ve got a walk ahead and want to make it before the sun sets. All of you should return back to your parents and your pack as well.”

They all nodded, bidding them both a farewell before scattering away to their families. Once gone Steve took the lead and pulled Tony along, now humming from unspoken contentment. Tony wondered what had him in such a good mood, considering what they just discovered only involved Tony. 

When they reached the edge of Hattan with the start of the forest only a couple of steps away Steve was still humming, not having mentioned a single word about the title of Iron Man or the children. Tony almost wondered if the entire incident even happened or if he imagined it all. “Steve?” 

“Yes?” 

“Did what I think happened actually happened, or were the fires from the forge hotter than I originally thought and I’m suffering the beginnings of heat stroke?” 

“Well if that’s the case I must be suffering from heat stroke as well because I swear I just saw a group of pups gather around us and call you Iron Man.” 

“So you saw the same thing I did?” 

“Funny thing that. What are the odds?” 

“You didn’t -” while the possibility was small, Steve being responsible somehow wasn’t all that crazy, considering how odd the Avengers as individuals were now that Tony was personally acquainted with them and knew first hand how they behaved. “Did you have something to do with this, by any chance? You or any of the others?” 

“I did not, and I’m pretty sure the others didn’t have a hand in it, either. But, on the off chance that I’m wrong, if one of our pack mates is responsible, I’m going to have to get them a basket of sweets as a reward. Iron Man is a brilliant name. It suits you for some reason.” 

“Does it?” Tony didn’t think it true. Him walking around being called Iron Man? Did he even have anything that carried iron with him? Only his gauntlets came to mind, but there was no way he was going to put those on any time soon. The name was very misleading as a whole, but if it only referred to his skills as a smithy than the title fit him as well as a trader’s title would. Iron Man wasn’t a fighter, he was just a provider. He could work with that. 

“Compared to my ‘Captain’ title, or Natasha’s ‘The Widow,’ or Janet’s ‘Wasp,’ Iron Man sounds spontaneous. A real spur of the moment name, and it fits you.” Steve slowed to a stop, looking at Tony with sparkling eyes. “From the first moment you appeared it’s been surprises after surprises. The first time you ran into us, do you remember how suddenly you jumped from the bushes? None of us were expecting you to dash through the leaves, but you did and it was truly unexpected, an on the spot moment, and I can’t picture you appearing in our pack’s lives any different,” the alpha was grinning now, chuckling at the memory with utter fondness. 

“Well, I do like keeping you all on your toes,” Tony teased. 

“You’re certainly going to keep us on our toes, both shifted and not. I get the feeling there’s going to be plenty of surprises for us in the future from you. Think you can give me a heads up when they happen?” 

They started walking again. “If I do that the others will think I’m picking favorites.” 

“Though I  _ am _ your favorite, right?” 

“I can’t answer that.” 

Steve placed the back of his hand on his forehead, suddenly looking seconds away from fainting. “Oh woe is me. I’m wounded, how could you? I thought you cared for me.” 

_ I do _ , Tony thought.  _ So much that I think it’s turned into something deeper, something I don’t know if I should admit to.  _

“You know I’d never -” 

Steve hushed him with a kiss. “I know. You’re spontaneous, but the last thing on your mind is hurting anyone, as you’ve said before.” He gave another kiss, and another, and another, ignoring the fact that Tony was still sweaty and probably reeked. “We best get going because if I continue I’ll never stop and we’ll end up being late for our moon run and I for one really want to run through the forest with you and our pack.” 

The alpha’s words spoke one thing but his continued kissing spoke another. Even as Tony gently pushed him so they could get a move on Steve persistently gave him more kisses. “Steve, the others will be waiting impatiently at this rate.” 

“You’re probably right,” Steve paused just enough to nod seriously before giving another kiss. Tony chuckled at the silliness of the alpha. 

“You’re impossible.” 

“I’ve been told I’m charming. Now who do I believe?” 

“Hopefully me since I’m the one caught under your clutches.” 

“Clutches you say? Does his mean I can hide you away and keep you all to myself?” 

“You haven’t been doing that already?” 

“Since when did you get so sassy?” 

“I’ve… always been sassy?” 

Steve grinned and pulled him close to tuck him under his chin. “Bless me. I’m a very lucky alpha.” 

Tony couldn’t hold back his cheek, not with newfound courage growing thanks to Steve’s approval. “I’m not capable of blessing you. My skills only extend to working with iron, but I’m honored you think so highly of me.” 

“You know, I’m very happy that I spotted you first. You and Clint would’ve gotten along too perfectly and he would’ve nabbed you the instant he realized it.” 

“I’m very happy you did, too,” Tony admitted, burying his face in Steve’s chest and sighing when Steve tightened his hug and gave him a kiss on his temple. 

“Come on. A moon run waits for no one.” Steve let him go and intertwined their fingers together, walking hand in hand back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, even if it ended somewhat on an abrupt tone. 
> 
> And I hope you're ready for the next update because certain special someones are going to finally make an appearance! 
> 
> Wanna guess who?
> 
> Hint: It's going to bring forth jealous Steve and some winkwinknudgenudge. Eh? Eeh?


	22. The Moon Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready! Here comes the fluff and the fun and the special someone!  
> Go forth and enjoy!

They managed to arrive just as the sun disappeared, allowing for the moon to take the night and light it with a glowing soft blue. Knowing what was to come soon once they got everyone together Tony’s urge to shift already and release a howl for the night sky to carry was a strong one. Had he been a pup he would’ve most likely been bouncing off the walls. Even now at his age he wanted to do just that.

He surged forward inside, dragging Steve along, who was chuckling good naturedly at his excitement, and found everyone already gathered and waiting.  All of them were present and wearing just enough to be considered decent and be able to easily take off for shifting, all of them except for Bruce, who Tony barely realized wasn’t going to join them on the run, not when his shift form was the Hulk. It was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on Tony. Here he was, excited to take part in a moon run with his new pack, but Bruce wouldn’t have the same pleasure.

Guilt soon filled him. Was he to continue and join Steve and the others for the run? Or was he to remain by Bruce’s side and keep him company? No matter how much he wanted to run along with Steve he couldn’t do that to Bruce. It was a cruel thing to even imagine.

From their little huddling Jan jumped up, looking eager before switching to sternly at them. “What were you both doing that you got here so late? Do we need to have an intervention?”

“We didn’t do anything,” Steve said.

Bucky studied them both, as if trying to find a visible clue that contradicted what Steve had said. “Not yet at least.” He was met with two sets of pillows aimed at his head with precision.

Jarvis whistled in contentment at the sight of Bucky receiving ammo for his comment. The cockatoo was currently nesting on Bruce’s shoulder while Vision was nestled on his side on the couch. Since obtaining his work and requiring hours working at Ben’s forge Tony had assigned his fellow omega as an honorary caretaker for Jarvis and Vision while he was in town in order to avoid the pair from becoming true menaces. There was nothing worse than a bored machine with no one to play with and a grumpy cockatoo complaining about the heat and the oil getting into his white feathers. And from the way Bruce preened while Clint whined about not getting picked to take care of the pair Tony figured Bruce enjoyed watching over the two.

It was a relief to know, should he ever need a moment of privacy without Jarvis and Vision, he had Bruce and even Clint ready and eager to keep watch.

“Anything new happened?” Sam casually asked from his spot on the floor and staring at the ceiling.

Steve began making his way to the stairs, most likely going to put his armor away for their run, and stopped right as he was about to take the first step up. “No, except… were any of you aware about the name Iron Man?”

Loki was the first to answer. “I believe that is what the habitants are referring our Anthony as.” Then with an annoyed expression he looked to Thor. “I do not understand the excessive need of titles these Canines create. Why speak of their warriors as anything else but their names?”

“I imagine they do so to make their warriors mightier in their tales.” Thor said. “A most unique name is to be remembered easily.”

“A most unique name is not reason enough to pass down in their tales. The glory comes from the skills of the warrior that brings fear into their enemies. Enemies are to cower from their capability, not for the rarity of their titles,” Loki chastited at no one in particular.

Sam snorted. “Easy for you to say, your names by themselves are already unique to us canines. We can be as intimidating as we want, make enemies cower from just looking at us, but do you really think they’ll run the moment they hear “ _Beware!_ Here comes,” Sam took a deep breath and scrunched up his face, trying to be intimidating as he whispered, “ _Sam_.’”

“Or _Clint?_ ” Clint added, saying his name as if it was a curse.

“Well, Natasha is pretty intimidating on its own,” Jan said, earning an approving nod from the named alpha.

“I prefer Widow better. Has a personal touch to it,” Natasha admitted, looking scary just by sitting there next to Bruce.

Loki thought it over and frowned. “I understand now. A most unfortunate condition Canines live with.”

Sam sat up to get a view of Steve and Tony. “Ignoring Loki insulting us, I’ve been hearing the folks in Hattan spread Iron Man around. Everyone is calling you that over there. Don’t know how it started or who even made up the name, but I’m betting they got the idea thanks to your smithing skills. Working with iron probably did it.”

“Probably,” Tony repeated and he found himself thinking… “but why Iron Man? Couldn’t they have though of something more… shorter?”

“At least your name sounds like something to fear. You could have very strong iron defences. Your title could have been given to you because of your tough skin or use of iron weapons, or, you know, _hard as iron_ ,” Clint didn’t bother ducking the four pillows thrown at him, grinning through the assault. “Iron can be interpreted as a lot of things. _My_ title on the other hand, what do people think when they hear Hawkeye? That I can see very far away? I mean, I can, but that doesn’t exactly scare anyone when out in battle.”

“I see your point.”

“Good. Wear Iron Man with pride. I know for sure it’s going to be a name shifters will fear, and maybe even a name people will swoon over and want to take a look,” the wink the beta gave was soon accompanied by five pillows aiming for his face and a sixth thrown by Steve (that he had somehow gotten at one point during Clint’s speech) with enough force to knock him on the ground. It didn’t stop Clint from laughing. “Cap, you’re possessiveness is showing.”

“And I’ll show you more than one thrown pillow when we start our moon run. Watch your back, Clint,” Steve said as he continued walking up the stairs.

Tony remained at the bottom, not seeing the point since all he was wearing were simple clothing already, and seeing as he wasn’t going to join the run there was no need for the sake of shifting easier.

“Are you excited for our run, Tony?” Jan said, eyes bright. “I hope you’re ready because you’re going to be my target after Hank.

“And you’re going to be mine after Sam,” Clint blew a kiss.

“Who says I’m the one getting chased?” Sam countered with a quirked eyebrow.

“Because you love me?”

“That isn’t enough to let you start the chase. We’ll end up running all night if you do.”

“Thanks, Dear, your faith in me is really encouraging.”

“I try.”

While the betas began their back and forth Tony maneuvered his way to sit with the other omega. Vision gave him a beep in greeting and Jarvis was quick to jump from Bruce’s shoulder to his own and nipped his ear gently.

Bruce gave him a nudge when he settled down on the couch. “Excited for the run?”

The guilt returned. “I don’t think I’ll be joining them.”

All at once, almost eerily so, the entire area became quiet and everyone snapped their heads to their direction. Tony had not said his statement loud enough, but it seemed he didn’t have to, not with the ears the Avengers carried.

“You’re not joining us? Why?”

“What did someone do to change your mind? Was it Steve? Clint? So help me if someone insulted you -”

“You must join us on this most special tradition performed by your species! The Running of the Moon strengthens the bonds in our pride in a manner that battle cannot.”

Tony interrupted them before their talked themselves hoarse. “It’s not that, I swear. I just don’t want to leave Bruce alone.”

Bruce’s eyebrows rose up and in his eyes comprehension set in. His eyes soon turned soft and he gave Tony a grateful smile. “I appreciate the concern, Tony. Thank you, but like I told Natasha I don’t mind not running. Don’t miss this for my sake.”

There was a constriction in his chest. “Are you sure, Brucie?”

“Positive. Besides, Loki invited me to join him in scaring all of you. That’s going to be fun.”

Loki’s lips turned upward in response. A menacing grin for sure. “Indeed. Do as I say and we will have all these canines soaring in the air from fright. Even this feline as well.”

Instead of denying Loki and calling his bluff, everyone in the room except for Tony and Bruce and Natasha appeared uneasy, and Tony was positive if they all had their tails and ears out they’d be down and in-between their legs.

“I would love to say he’s lying and we don’t actually get scared with his tricks, but what he lacks in running compared to us, he more than makes up for in jumping down from trees and scaring the fur clean off of us,” Clint grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in a huff.

All right, this was going to be interesting.

“Brucie,” Tony gave his best pleading face, “you’ll have mercy on me, right? I’m senile and I have a weak heart and I’d rather not spend our first moon run collapsing on the floor.”

“You’re not that old, Tony.”

“Says you.”

“How about I just scare you once?”

Once was too many already, but for the sake of letting Bruce do something for their moon run Tony was going to allow it. He just hoped Bruce went easy on the scare. Tony already had years of his heart feeling heavy and skipping beats. He would rather avoid them if possible.

“Promise just once?”

“Promise.”

The sound of footsteps making their way down signalled the return of their alpha leader. Steve was wearing nothing but a simple loose, white shirt and loose pants and no boots. Even though there was no shape or form thanks to the looseness of the clothes Tony still appreciated the sight he created, as if having just recently woken up.

At his reappearance everyone stood and made their way outside. The full moon was high in the air and the stars shined and twinkled around it. The ground was illuminated and the grass glowed in a deep green. It was perfect for a run and Tony was already itching to shift.

Steve led them to the trees, stopping at just the edge of them and claiming the spot to place their clothing. While everyone was busy grabbing the edges of their shirts and pants Tony rushed to the nearest tree to hide behind and take his shirt off. He ignored the scars on his chest and made quick work of his pants, starting his shift even before taking them off.

Nearly all at once everyone howled to the sky and Tony soon joined them after his second skin and his fur took full form. He howled loud and howled until all the air left his lungs and then nearly jumped in surprise when a roar accompanied their howls. The roar could have only come from Thor and the image of a lion roaring with a pack of canines was something Tony needed to see. He rounded the tree he hid himself behind and admired the view of his pack mates all facing upwards, standing tall and proud and howling and roaring together.

Off to the side of where Bruce was standing was Vision next to his feet and releasing a long sound to mimic their howls. Tony howled just for him, preening when Vision returned it. Then another howl joined them, one that sounded specifically just for him and made his heart beat just a little bit faster.

Steve was at a distance and facing his direction. He looked on expectantly when he stopped, waiting for Tony to respond, for him to make the first move. The excitement doubled and Tony couldn’t wait any longer. This was it. This was the moon run and Steve wanted to chase him first out of all their pack mates. For one tense moment Tony didn’t move a muscle, watching Steve intently. He needed to make this chase worthwhile, needed to give the alpha a good run.

Tony dashed into the trees and, as if releasing a signal, everyone followed soon after. They separated, a pair running one direction while another ran the other. At one point Tony made a sharp turn, trying to use the roots of the trees as a means to trip his chaser, who was far closer than Tony had wanted him to be. Sure, Tony wasn’t exactly fit, or young, or just fast in general, but he had hoped perhaps the others would give him a chance to have a long run, or at least have an entire minute before he was caught. Let him have a bit of dignity instead of showing how unfit he truly was.

The running steps that belonged to Steve grew louder and closer. He was right on his tail, Tony was positive of it. He gave another sharp turn and then another and another. He even jumped over a large stone in order to slow the alpha down, but Steve followed without hesitation and without any trouble. Tony cursed the alpha’s youth and strength and fit body. This was simply unfair.

He gave one final attempt at a sharp turn but instead of aiding him it actually became his downfall. One root that was hidden behind a larger one caught his paw, tripping and throwing him off balance. With the legs that were still on the ground he pushed himself and jumped in one last attempt to find balance and continue running. It worked and he managed to run a couple of more seconds before Steve finally caught him. The alpha leaped on him and caused them to topple over, and while Tony wanted his first run with Steve to have been longer he found he didn’t mind it ending so soon. Not when Steve was currently licking his snout and wagging his tail and Tony happily rolled over to expose his belly and let Steve continue.

“I caught you,” Steve said in-between licks on the bottom of his jaw.

“Couldn’t you have given me a chance to pretend I could outrun you?” Tony purposely pouted, twitching his paws that he had raised in the air.

“I could, but I really wanted to get my paws on you. It was really hard to resist. The very thought of watching you slip out of my grasp? I’m not letting it happen.” Steve gave his neck a little nip, making Tony almost turn to putty on the spot. The alpha’s teeth were right there. With one clamp of the jaw those fangs could pierce through the sensitive skin on Tony’s neck and leave a mark. Make Tony belong to Steve and only Steve.

Tony gave a needy whine when the alpha pulled away. Just one bite, that was all he wanted. Just one.

“Tony?”

He stilled, realizing what he was doing. He was imploring for something that Steve might not even want to do in a manner that would cause Steve to feel guilty if he were to say no. He was cornering the alpha. He needed to stop.

“What’s the matter?” Steve tilted his head in question.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. Ignore any noise I created moments ago and let’s get back to our run.” Tony tried rolling to stand back up, but Steve placed all his weight down on him and kept him in place.

“Tony.”

“It’s nothing, Steve. Really.”

“I get the feeling it’s more than nothing.”

“Well it's nothing important.”

Steve licked his snout. “Tony, everything that involves you is important to me. Tell me what's the matter, please.”

Tony whined and looked away. Steve was giving him giant blue pleading eyes and how could he resist that? “It's about… about marking.”

The alpha’s eyes widened. “Did I do something you didn't want? I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have touched there without permission, I -”

“No,” Tony quickly cut in, “nothing like that. The exact opposite, actually.”

Steve took a moment to process it, face slowly morphing to surprise and hope. “You _want_ me to mark you?”

“I want to feel yours. I want to belong to you,” he admitted, feeling ridiculous and needy.

The alpha appeared to be left speechless. “I - do you really?” Then his tail began wagging uncontrollably. “Sweetheart, I'd love nothing more than to. If that's what you want.”

Tony shivered in delight when Steve leaned down to give his neck a lick. Then disappointment set in when the alpha didn't bite down like he expected him to.

“I want to,” Steve confessed. “I want to so much. You don't know how hard it is to resist, but I can't do it here. I want our privacy. I want us to enjoy it alone.”

Tony had a right to whine, but he understood Steve's reasoning. They were in the middle of a moon run, after all. And right on cue, as if they knew the two were talking about the run, Bucky appeared from behind the trees and gave a warning howl before going low and waiting for Steve to get ready.

Steve nipped Tony's neck, right on the spot where a mark would be placed, a silent promise of what he was to do later when they were alone. “I'll run after you again later. Promise.”

Tony watched him storm off, admiring the view that were Steve's strong legs pushing on the ground and the muscle flexing. Bucky rushed off after the alpha with speed that Tony would never be able to reach. Once again he cursed the youth the alphas carried and their unfairly fit bodies.

In the direction the alphas vanished to, Tony caught sight of a golden dingo rushing through the trees and a coyote right on his tail. Sam was catching up with Hank by the second and right when it looked like he was going to pounce a mighty roar broke through the trees and out jumped Thor, catching the two under his paws. The canines gave shrieks of surprise before tumbling under Thor’s weight. Thor stood proud over them and rumbled in his success.

“None can escape the mighty Thor!” The feline said before jumping inches in the air by the sudden fall of a black python from the tree branches that landed on his back and made the feline dash to the trees like a frighten kitten.

The python hissed with glee. “None can best the mighty Loki,” the serpent mocked.

Hank and Sam watched with amusement before going after the pair.

Shortly after they disappeared another set of howls signalled the arrival of Jan and Clint. Appearing from different directions but facing the same goal the two wagged their tails and waited with anticipation for Tony to move.

“You're mine, Tony!” Jan said with glee.

“Not if I catch him first,” Clint challenged.

Tony, meanwhile, worked himself up for the run that was to occur. He might have failed giving Steve a good run, but maybe with the dingo and the jackal he'd have a chance.

Only one way to find out.

While the pair of betas were bantering to each other Tony took the opportunity to gain as much distance as possible, trying to stay low in order to have less friction against the wind. True to their hunting instincts Jan and Clint moved the moment they heard the first crunch of the grass and saw Tony head for cover behind two partnered trees with very large roots sprouting out the ground. The two still had their challenge going, trying to outdo the other while lessening the distance between them and Tony. At certain points during the running they even tried compromising each other by biting the other’s paws and bumping into them. It was all playful, of course, but it was still a game of first and neither wanted to lose.

Because they placed most of their focus trying to throw the other off Tony managed to pull off a full minute of running and almost reached a second before he felt someone pounce on him from his left and made him roll on the ground.

“Got you!” Jan cheered with her tail wagging in victory. She only had a second to celebrate before Clint decided win or lose he was going to join the small pile. He tackled her and caused them both to land on Tony, who had the wind literally knocked out of him.

“Got you both,” Clint said and lifted his head up to howl his claim, letting the rest of their pack know he managed to get another under his paws.

“Get off us, you oaf,” Jan swiped her paws at the jackal.

Clint didn’t get the chance to move, not when the feline that looked bigger than life jumped on all of them and made them all squeak. No python was present on his back.

Thor’s voice boomed with the laughter he released. “Another victory for I!”

“I can’t feel my legs.” Clint’s face was smothered in the lion’s made and caused his voice to be muffled.

“I can’t breathe,” Jan managed from somewhere squeezed between Clint and Tony.

“I can’t feel anything,” Tony said, voice higher pitched than usual.

“Brothers and sister in pride, you hand me these victories dexterously. If this is allowed to continue I will rise with the most canines under mine name and be named champion, again.”

Clint gave a push against the mane and tried wiggling from under the feline. “In your dreams, Thor.”

“Mine dreams hold many fantasies, none of which you wish to hear, but should your curiosity ever need to be sated -”

“Lord almighty no, please don’t tell us about your fantasies. Anything but that.”

“Very well. Have I divulged the story of Loki and I’s encounter with the mighty -”

Clint released a squeaky whine, “Noo, anything but that. Get this cat off of us! Someone, anyone, we could really use a rescue right about now.” He shouted to the trees.

“Nay, I have yet to start mine tale -”

A set of bushes that were large enough to hide a crouching figure rustled and a yowl of fright made them still. Another rustle and through the leaves broke out Sam with a hissing python on his back that seemed to be the source for his fright. Loki was wrapped in a manner that managed to cover Sam’s eyes, making the canine temporarily blind to where he was running but miraculously missed all the trees. Right behind him the red fox that was Natasha broke through those same leaves and was trying to grab hold of the python with her teeth and right behind her was Hank, trotting in a more sedated state.

“Get him off, get him off, get him off, get him off, I can’t see!” Sam cried.

Loki seemed to maneuver the direction Sam ran to with his body by leaning side to side and ended up making Sam run right onto the pile that Thor was holding down. The feline took most of the force from the blind tackle, but Tony still felt the added pressure of more weight. Then even more weight was added when Natasha decided getting Loki off of Sam was a lost cause and simply climbed the pile of canines, feline and serpent to sit on the top. Hank, thankfully, chose to remain on the ground and sat patiently, grinning at the sight of them.

“I believe this means I won,” Natasha said with an elegant shake of her fur.

“No arguments here,” Clint rushed out, “so do us a favor and all of you get off. I think we’re breaking Tony and the last thing we want is to make Steve upset.”

There were multiple groans of agreement from everyone, the loudest being from Tony, but fate continued to work against him because the very second they began struggling to move Bucky jumped out of nowhere, rushed to step around the wiggling bodies and hid as best as he could behind Natasha on the top of the pile. The last missing pack mate of theirs joined them soon after, his focus only on the hidden alpha before he actually paid attention to what he was seeing and quickly gave a whine of mortification when he spotted Tony at the very bottom of the assortment of shifters.

“Told you,” Clint said.

“All of you get off of him!” Steve screeched as he tried pushing them off of Tony.

One by one they did until eventually Tony was free to roll on his belly and lie there.

“Tony, are you all right?”

Tony looked up to the worried alpha. “I'm fine, Steve. I can handle a little weight on me.”

“You had Thor in that pile. Thor isn't exactly just a little weight,” Bucky huffed towards the direction the feline was sitting at.

“Those who hold their own against mine mass are admirable. Shall we test that theory further?” Thor gave what appeared to he a sultry smirk but looked very awkward coming from the face of a lion.

Steve growled and crouched down, ready to dash. “No one is testing any theories.”

“You are a fine leader, Captain, and our pride is honored to have you take us through many victories, but are you confident you will manage a chase against I?”

“I almost caught you last time and I'm feeling extremely lucky tonight. Let's see how it ends.”

“Have at thee!” Thor boomed and right when it looked like he was going to charge against Steve he whirled around and started running at the last minute. Loki managed to latch on to him before Thor got too far away. Soon after everyone except for Tony followed suit.

With a groan Tony rested his head on the ground. While it was true he was able to handle the weight of the pile on him he was unprepared for the act itself and didn't have his muscles working to combat the mass and lessen the strain on his ribs and lungs. He wondered how Jan was able to run already when she herself took the near same weight he had, and by all accounts she was smaller than him, at least by a little. Taller sure, but how much strength did she possess in her thin frame?

He cursed that along with all of their youthful and fit bodies. He really needed to get working on his own to at least keep up and not drag too badly behind them.

So focused on trying to imagine ways to start on that he never noticed three figures stalking along behind him, getting closer and closer by the second. He didn't even hear anything until a very high pitched sound rang near his ear and sent him jumping up on his feet in fright. Vision, who didn't look any bit apologetic for what he had done, circled around and whistled in success.

Tony's heart didn't get a chance to calm down or take a break because a second later a pair of hands touched the area of his hips and tail and was accompanied by a shriek that made him flinch. He dashed forward, tumbled a bit, and spun around to see Bruce chuckling and Jarvis looking far too smug.

“Traitors,” Tony barked at them, his heart still racing. “The lot of you betraying me like this.”

“You did say we're allowed to scare you once.” Tony had half a mind to throw something at Bruce.

“ _You_ yes, not the ones who I raised since they were newborns and decided to turn treason. All of you will put me in the ground.”

Jarvis flew over to rest on Tony's back, nipping affectionately. “Nonsense, Sir. Even with your advanced age you are able to handle a fright or two.”

“Keep talking like that and I'll give you a bath. See how nice and smooth your feathers will be after I'm through with them.”

“Understood. I'll refrain from commenting on your youth, Sir.”

Tony gave a huff and trotted over to a now sitting Bruce resting against a tree. Vision was already there and swaying side to side, still apparently mocking him.

“How are you doing?” Tony asked the other omega after settling down.

“Fine,” Bruce shrugged. He appeared to mean it. “I am, really. I might not be running, but I am scaring and that’s just as fun. In fact I managed to get Clint, Hank, Thor and even Natasha.”

Tony felt his ears perk up. Natasha? Tony couldn’t imagine anyone managing to scare Natasha and live to tell it, but he guessed if anyone could it was Bruce. He might walk away with his limbs attached. “You got Natasha?”

“It wasn’t easy, let me tell you that, but I managed it after she literally stopped right in front of me while chasing Bucky. I couldn’t resist.”

“How did she not hear or smell you? I can’t even smell you right now,” Tony sniffed his arm and sure enough he still couldn’t smell anything radiating off of Bruce. His natural scent was not there.

“Loki.”

That answered everything. “Spells?”

“He cast a kind of silencing spell and neutralizing spell on me and himself. No matter where we walk or step on there’s no noise from it, and we smell like nothing. As if we’re not even here.”

“I don’t know how to feel about that.” While the idea of Loki capable of making himself or anyone he chooses absolutely invisible (senses wise), the thought of the benefits a silencing cast could do for certain noisy items or noisy armors could really aid for everyday life and battles. He could make it so runes could obscure noise and place them on his gauntlets or his anvil or even Vision for when running was the last option and his little machine required to be hidden.

“I don’t think you have to worry about Loki sneaking up on you during the middle of the night. He seems to enjoy using his spells for fun and tricks when everyone is together. He wants others to see besides himself.”

“Not sure that makes me feel better, but I’m glad you both managed to join in even without the running.”

Bruce hummed, resting his head against the tree and closed his eyes. “I think… I’m going to tell Natasha about the other guy.”

Tony turned his head so fast he both heard and felt it crack. “Are you sure?”

“It’s not fair for her courting me when she doesn’t know what she’s getting into. I’m not fooling myself into thinking the other guy won’t ever make an appearance and I can hide him forever. Unforeseen events will happen, the other guy will pay a visit, and everyone will see. They might accept him, or they might not, and she has a right to know before this goes further.”

Tony understood. They’ve been hiding things long enough and the Avengers have been nothing but understanding and caring and they accepted everything he and Bruce had said without question. It can’t go on. It shouldn’t go on. The pack had more than earned their trust.

But… “What if they don’t accept him?”

Silence fell over them. A very tension filled silence, until, “Then I’ll be returning to the shacks. Nothing else I can do. You, on the other hand, will be staying with them.”

“I’m not leaving you alone.”

“You are,” Bruce cut in, giving him a sharp look. “They might not want the other guy, but they want you. Steve especially.”

Tony wasn’t going to back down. He stared at Bruce right back and a fear made himself known. “He might not want me after… after I tell him I’m incapable of giving him a family.”

Bruce’s eyes softened from the confusion that appeared. That confusion slowly changed to realization and then to sympathy. Tony looked away, eyes to the ground and with a heavy feeling in his heart. “No matter what one says, what they promise, a pup is reason enough to take it all back and change their minds. Steve… Steve would make a wonderful father, but he needs someone capable of giving him the chance.”

“Tony -”

“And it’s fine, honestly. I knew what I was getting myself into, or I had an idea. Steve didn’t, and it’s not fair for him either.”

“Steve cares for you too much to do that.”

“And if it’s not enough?”

Bruce didn’t answer, only ran a hand down his neck to his shoulders. It was enough for him.

He sighed. “Does your shack have room for three more?”

The other omega smiled softly. “Always.”

“When do you plan to tell her?”

Bruce opened his mouth to answer but didn’t get a chance to say a word. A howl from a distance away rushed through the trees and made them freeze. It wasn’t a howl to signal victory or signal a start or even a playful howl for the moonlit night to carry. No, it was a howl to call everyone together in emergency. The howl was meant to call for help.

Tony and Bruce rushed to their feet and gave each other a quick glance to make sure they were hearing exactly what they thought they were hearing. When they confirmed it they began running to the direction of the howl. Because he was on two legs Bruce began lagging behind, as did Vision, while Tony continued cutting the distance in a faster paced. The cockatoo still on Tony’s back sank in his claws in order to hold on and had his wings out and ready to take to the air the moment Tony reached their destination.

As they got closer they began hearing muffled voices that became clearer and clearer until they were able to distinguish Steve’s voice barking at someone and demanding answers.

“Who are you?”

There was no answer. Steve growled at that and was accompanied by the growls from Bucky. Then there was the sounds of fighting, of growls that were associated with biting and crunching of grass as bodies were thrown on it. Then as suddenly as it started it stopped, but the voices didn’t.

“Where is he?” A new voice demanded. A voice that made Tony skid to a complete stop, nearly sending Jarvis flying without control.

The voice sounded familiar. A familiar he didn’t think he’d hear in a long time to come. A familiar that reminded him of home, of a good home and friends that were family and made him feel protected and secured and… and _loved_.

He almost couldn’t believe who he was thinking of.

He ran as fast as his legs could go, to the point of feeling an intense burn from the excessive use his muscles were suffering. He needed to see who was responsible for reminding him of the familiarity. Because if it was who he thought it was… he needed to see him _now_.

“Where is he?” The voice said again. “Where are you holding Tony?”

Tony’s heart was beating rapidly. _It had to be_.

“Who are you to demand that?” Steve growled.

“Are you the one responsible?” Tony was surprised to hear the intensity in Jan’s voice. The pure _anger_ it carried. “Are you the one who did it to him?”

“Where are you keeping him!” The new shifter commanded, completely ignoring Jan. “Where are you bastards keeping him!”

Tony made a sharp turn around a tree and in a clearing that appeared to be place solely for the purpose of a battle he found his pack all gathered on one side and a lone shifter on the other. His eyes took in every detail, every speck of figure, the intense black coat, the dark eyes, the size and the sharp shape. The new shifter was very much an alpha wolf and exactly who Tony thought it was.

“Rhodey?”

He said it softly, mostly to himself, but some of his packmates had heard him and tore their gazes from the newcomer to him.

Then the fighting happened again. Steve charged, teeth bared and snarling. Bucky was right behind him, ready to grab hold of any body part to latch onto and never let go. Tony’s heart stopped at the sight. Rhodey could fight, he knew this, but fighting against two alphas who were part of the Avengers pack? No matter how determined, Rhodey was going to lose and end up badly injured.

He couldn’t let that happen.

“Stop!” He shouted as loud as he could and made a straight line to the three. Clint and Sam jumped in his path, trying to stop him, but without putting much thought into it Tony used his momentum to jump over them and keep going.

“Tony, wait -!”

Tony ignored them, desperate to stop the fighting. Steve had Rhodey in his jaws, shaking and nearly tearing at the scruff. Bucky had the front of his neck, keeping him still and suffocating him.

“Let him go!” Tony charged for Bucky first. Rhodey was uncharacteristically still. No longer fighting and just limp in their jaws. A clear sign that lack of oxygen was taking its toll. Not even thinking of the consequences and only his best friend’s safety in mind Tony aimed for Bucky’s snout and bit down hard. Bucky yelped and released his hold, backing away to paw at his snout.

Steve watched the entire scene and in surprise and shock he let Rhodey go. Rhodey landed on the ground with a soft ‘thump’ and still didn’t move. Tony checked for breathing, relief sweeping him when he noticed the slow rise and fall of Rhodey’s chest. He slowly walked closer, sniffing and relishing at the scent that was pure Rhodey.

“Rhodey?” Tony nudged his snout. “Rhodey, please wake up. H-Honey bear? You’re not… you’re not -”

Rhodey coughed and released a groan. One of his paws twitched and his face scrunched up in pain. His eyes opened slowly, trying to focus, and Tony had never been so grateful from seeing the beautiful dark color of them.

“Rhodey?” he tried one more time.

Rhodey’s eyes landed on him and Tony could see the moment he recognized him. Those eyes lit up, wide and hopeful. “Tony?”

Tony nodded, happiness making itself known when his tail began wagging.

The wolfish smile that Rhodey gave him was the same smile he often gave when they were younger and Tony felt the years melt away. He was a teen all over again. “Tony!”

“Rhodey!” Tony leaped at him in pure joy and licked everywhere he could reach on his face. The years surely lifted from him. He felt like a pup, energetic and eager and whining from the pure happiness he felt. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”

“I can’t either.”

Tony held on as best as he could with paws. He never wanted to let go. He feared it could’ve all been a dream, but from the way Rhodey returned the hug and nearly crushed his ribs while doing so he knew it couldn’t be.

He never wanted the moment to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy, watcha think??  
> Tooth-rottin' stuff here. Right? Riiight??? It is, or at least close to it, right?  
> Who still has their teeth?


	23. Jealousy and Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's day!  
> Have some jealous Steve and small misunderstanding and love. <3

For one glorious moment Tony didn’t see anything but Rhodey. Under him, exposing his belly and licking him all over his face and making whines out of pure happiness. It was like old times when they were teens and ran through the forest together. Boundless energy keeping them playing for near hours and the hierarchy for alphas and omegas keeping them at odds with other teens.

Rhodey had always lied down and exposed his belly to Tony, something that young alphas were taught to never do. Only show your weakest to other alphas who best you, outrank you, or had earned your respect. Omegas didn’t deserve and never required this show of submission from an alpha. Omegas were the ones to always submit. Young alphas were told never to show more than what an omega deserved, but no matter how many times Rhodey had heard this saying he’d always throw a big ‘go to hell with your beliefs’ and would do the exact opposite, doing everything he was told not to and treating Tony as an equal. At least until other alphas tried walking over him, then Rhodey turned into that protective alpha looking over his pack.

Years later and Tony still hadn’t figured out how he had earned Rhodey as a friend. Perhaps that was where all his early years of luck went to. Finding the alpha. If that were the case Tony would go through years with Hanmer as his alpha all over again if it meant getting Rhodey. He managed to survive it once, what's another go at it for the sake of finding  Rhodey?

And now for finding the Avengers? For finding Bruce? For Steve?

There was no question about it.

He felt teeth on his ear and the yank that followed caused him to yip. He batted Rhodey's face in revenge.

“What was that for?”

Rhodey gave him a wolfish grin. “Just making sure you're actually real.”

“By yanking _my_ ear?”

“You're solid and you're still here, aren't you?”

Tony huffed and reached for Rhodey's ear, yanking it with a bit more force than necessary and making him wince.

“Aah, I'm real, I'm real, you made your point, let go,” Rhodey pawed him, exaggerating his pain. “You're going to yank my ear clean off.”

“No more than you deserve, heathen.”

“You always do say the sweetest words.”

“Just for you, Honey Bear.”

They managed to hear a squawk right before the massive bird that was Jarvis landed on Tony's head. The combined strength from the momentum he appeared at and the weight forced Tony down and snap his head against Rhodey's neck. The two of them groaned from the impact while the cockatoo stood tall and proud, like a king on his throne.

“Master Rhodes, may I say how refreshing it is to see you again. Sir has already rejuvenated his tired bones from the mere sight of you. Surely a miracle.”

Tony whined as Rhodey gave a chuckle. “It’s good to see you, too, Jarvis, though I don’t remember you being that big. Tony’s been overfeeding you?” He shrieked when Jarvis pecked his nose in retaliation. “I don’t remember you being this violent, either!”

Vision came rolling on the corner of their eyes and gave Rhodey a good, affectionate, repeating bump on the head accompanied by a high whistle that made them cringe and lower their ears. “When did you both get so damn rambunctious?” Rhodey said in-between Jarvis’ pecking and Vision’s bumping.

“I believe you have Sir to thank for that.”

“What have you been teaching the kids, Tones?”

Tony huffed and swatted his face playfully. “If anything they get it from you. I was a well behaved child, unlike you.”

“Well behaved, huh? Oh sure, I remember your well behaved ass jumping over old man Harold's fence after running over his garden. You are the epitome of the perfect child.”

Tony’s fur was the only reason why his embarrassed flush was hidden from the world. “ _Traitor._ You swore you’d never mention it again.”

“Situation called for it.”

“You’re not innocent in this, though. If I remember correctly you were there with me jumping over that same fence. Don’t act coy.”

“Never said I didn’t. _I_ wasn’t the one trying to prove myself a well behaved child.”

“Stop using my words against me.”

“Then tell the kids to stop pecking me already.”

“If I may, Young Vision and I are beyond the age of being considered infants. If you are to address us, do so as adults.”

“Oh, aye?” Rhodey stared at the cockatoo. “You both are adults now? You got a job then?” he deadpanned.

“Watching over Sir is a full time commitment. I believe we qualify.”

“Hey!” Tony cried out in insult while Rhodey, Jarvis and Vision seemed to quietly agree together on the statement.

“Fair enough. I'll give you _young adults_ that. Anyone will get grey hairs keeping an eye on him.”

“Please tell me how you really feel,” Tony scowled.

“Kind of thought we already were.”

A crunch of grass made them pause and they turned when Steve's small voice said, “Tony?”

Tony quickly scrambled to get up, forcing Jarvis to jump to the ground. In his excitement from reunited with his best friend he had completely forgotten about his pack and had yet to give introductions. Rhodey followed suit in a more sedate pace, ears low as he stared at Steve and Bucky who Tony just remembered he was fighting against before he put a stop to it, and… oh hell, he had _bitten Bucky_ in order to stop the fight. He had bitten his _second in command_ in order to defend someone who was a stranger to their pack. There were rules against that, rules that gave their leader every right to kick Tony out of the pack. Attacking the second in command was a huge no for anyone in the lower hierarchy. Being the leader’s mate or not, Tony wasn’t going to be excused for his actions.

Bucky didn’t look impressed, not that Tony expected him to considering he had a bite wound on his snout. Tony flattened his ears as low as they would go, hoping to lessen his punishment, even if it was a little bit. Anything, so long as he wasn’t kicked out of the pack.

He made a wounded noise. “I’m sorry. I didn’t - I wasn’t thinking… about my actions.”

Bucky huffed, making Tony instinctively lower his eyes and his head. Tony had no right to make eye contact with him. His second in command was about to berate him for what he had done, ensue his punishment, or at least he was meant to, but a growl from Rhodey put it all at a stand still and before he knew it Rhodey had moved in front of him, making himself a barrier. Rhodey lifted his front leg over Tony, making his chest cover his entire front and continued growling. The display made Steve growl back and he took a paw forward.

Tension was built as the two alphas faced off until Tony couldn’t take it anymore. He was worried for his upcoming punishment and he was scared for the possible fight that could continue and he was absolutely terrified of the possibility of getting kicked out of the only good thing that had happened to him in years.

He flattened himself on the ground, as low as he could go in submission. “Rhodey… please stop. They’re my leader and second in command. I deserve whatever they decide on for attacking him.”

That stopped his Honey bear from growling, but he still refused to move.

“Rhodey?”

“No,” Rhodey snapped. “I’m not going to let you get punished because you were helping me. Whatever your punishment is I’ll take it.”

“We’re not going to punish him.” Both Steve and Bucky looked scandalized, but ultimately were ignored.

“Rhodey, no, I can’t let you do that.”

“You’ve got no other choice. You’ve been hurt long enough. I’m not going to let it happen again, Tones.”

“ _Rhodey,_ ” Tony hissed, trying to shush his best friend. He didn’t want his pack to learn anything about his past.

Jan trotted forward. Her ears were flat with anger. “What do you mean _‘long enough?’_ How long has it happened?”

Rhodey bared his teeth for a second. “Why do you want to know?”

She bared hers right back, not once hesitating facing off against the alpha. “Because I _care_ . _We_ care,” the entire pack made a small movement (a flicker of their ears, a swish of their tail, a tongue flicking, a paw twitching and Bruce, who was now present, rubbing his hands nervously) to emphasize who she meant. “Tony has been with us for months. He’s _family_.”

That made Rhodey pause, apparently the answer he was looking for because he looked remorseful as he said, “Far too long.”

Tony moved away from him. “Stop. _Please_ ,” he pleaded his best friend. He didn’t want his pack to think lesser of him for his past. “It’s fine.”

“No it’s _not_ . It’s not _fine_ -”

“ _Stop it._ Leave it alone.” Tony backed away when both Rhodey and Steve moved closer to him. The former seemed to realize how much Tony didn’t want this subject to continue and nodded, silently promising to not say another word.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Fine.”

Even so he knew the damage had been done. His pack was smart. They understood the obvious clues given and probably had a general idea of what could’ve happened. He just hoped they didn’t jump to the right conclusions. The use of ‘hurt’ could mean anything and it could range from something considerably small, like an insult or two, to something in the middle, like a physical altercation, or something big… like what Tony had gone through for years. He prayed more than anything they thought it to be an insult or two.

Steve looked on with worry. “Tony?”

“Please,” Tony begged his alpha, and in turn his leader and his pack, “drop it.”

Steve slowly walked towards him, as if trying not to scare off a skittish animal, which Tony guessed he no doubt looked like. He didn’t back away from the alpha this time, letting Steve make contact. The alpha rubbed his cheek against Tony’s own. A silent apology accompanying it. Then naturally, because proper introductions haven’t been made yet, Rhodey snarled at Steve, most likely not enjoying the sight of some alpha touching his best friend. Steve snarled right back.

Bucky was unimpressed again. “I take it this is someone important to you, considering you bit me for them?”

Tony ducked his head again. “I’m sorry.”

“You bit your mate’s best friend for the sake of saving _your_ friend. Lord help us, you and Steve really do deserve each other.”

Steve paused his standoff against Rhodey long enough to say, “Shut up, Bucky.”

Tony casted his eyes down. “I didn’t mean to -”

“Yes you did,” Bucky interrupted. “You meant every force on that bite of yours. Your friend was in danger so you reacted. Not like any of us haven’t done the same. Just don’t make biting me a habit. My mate won’t enjoy seeing someone else’s mark on me.”

This time Steve stopped the standoff altogether for the sake of looking at his second in command with exasperation. “Shut up, Bucky.”

Without the challenge present anymore Rhodey glanced back and forth from the two alphas and then to Tony in question. “ _This_ is your pack?”

“Yes,” Tony said with a hint of pride. He ignored some of his packmates huffing in insult. “Honey bear, this is my pack, the Avengers. Everyone, this is my Honey bear, Rhodey. Best friend since childhood. Papa wolf at the best of times and mama bear at the worst.”

Rhodey sighed. “Why am I not surprised at my introduction?”

“Because you know me so well?”

“Not well enough it seems. The _Avengers_? I knew you were going to reach great heights, Tones, but joining the top of the foodchain pack? Didn’t know you had it in you.”

“You’d be surprised how his joining actually went,” Jan said. “It’s almost straight out of a novel. Events only someone could write.”

Rhodey arched an eyebrow, tail twitching in interest. “Really now?”

“Really,” Clint moved forward, and maybe Tony was imagining things but he could’ve sworn Clint was purposely standing with his hind legs out, posing and showing them off. “We should get together sometime to go over it with you. We’ll give you all the juicy details.”

Rhodey appeared at odds about that, shooting Tony a questioning glance.

“There’s - uh, there’s not much to the story of how it happened,” Tony admitted.

“Not much?”

“Really short, honestly.”

Sam joined Clint’s side. “We can always spend the rest of the time doing something else.” The two betas exchanged a brief glance, silently agreeing to something Tony didn’t think he wanted to know. “Preferably alone,” Clint finished.

Rhodey’s gaze bounced between the betas. “Well, how about you hold that thought for a moment. I’ve got someone who will want to hear this.”

Tony perked up. “You’re not alone?”

“No, I’ve got two others with me.”

There was a brief tension all around at the knowledge of there being two other strangers nearby, but considering Rhodey was a friend to one of their own they weren’t at high alert. Rhodey took a deep breath, lifted his head to the sky and howled, calling to whoever he meant. When he finished his howl everyone heard footsteps to the outskirts of their territory. The footsteps came closer and closer until eventually, from behind two trees, two heads popped out. A strawberry marble fox peered at their surroundings, searching for any danger before venturing out. Right behind them was a plump wolf, painted with patterns of white, brown and black, two large ears that Tony remembered vividly, and carrying not one, not two, but three traveling packs. Two on their back and one in their mouth. A strawberry marble fox and a plump painted wolf… Tony was running to them before he knew it.

“Pepper! Happy!”

Pepper cheered his name before running to him, just as excited and so damn happy as he felt. He stopped just inches before they made contact, letting Pepper decide on what to do. She met him by slowing down as well, bumping their heads together before standing on her hind legs to bat at him with overwhelming affection. She then curled around his neck to mimic a hug.

“ _Tony_ \- I can’t believe it. I’m really seeing you right now. You’re really here.”

“So are you.” Tony’s voice wavered, and for good reason. Pepper, who he hadn’t seen in far too long - _longer_ than even Rhodey - was here with him, hugging him, holding him, saying his name, was close enough for him to smell her familiar scent mixed with the scent of travel, and was solid and real.

“You’re both here,” He stared at Happy, who was standing behind Pepper and letting them have their moment. The loyal beta guard who had become one of Tony’s closest and dearest friends, who protected Pepper’s business pack, most likely continued to protect her pack after Tony was taken away, and now both followed and protected Pepper to their reunion. “Get over here, Happy. I haven’t seen you in years. I’m not letting you get away without joining in.”

Happy chuckled and shook his head fondly, joining them nonetheless. He took up Tony’s other side and needed to lower his head down in order to properly hug. He stood taller than Tony by two inches, something unfairly done if Tony were to say so, which he did. “I don’t remember you being that tall.”

One of Happy’s large ears twitched. “That makes two of us.”

At one point Rhodey decided to join in on their small pile and trotted over to drape his front leg over Tony’s back and rest his snout over his head. “I remember you being exactly this tall and I’m glad it hasn’t changed.”

Tony growled, partly in annoyance at his height being pointed out and mostly out of fondness because, his old friends were _there_ with him. They were truly there and holding him and real and were for some reason traveling around in the Avengers’ territory.

“What are you three doing here?” Tony had to ask because, while he was overjoyed, _ecstatic_ , that they were there, what were the odds that they would travel near the territory of his pack, somehow end up meeting his pack and finding him? And from the way Rhodey demanded the location of someone he was pretty sure was meant to be him, he could take a guess and figure out it wasn’t all a huge coincidence.

“We came looking for you,” Pepper confirmed to him. “Oh, Tony… the moment we heard we immediately packed everything we needed and traveled the lands for a single clue to where you could’ve gone.”

“The moment you heard?” Tony’s heart skipped a beat and it wasn’t from joy.

“It was Rhodey who told us. Sent us a letter about you becoming packless and going out to search for you. We couldn’t just sit still and do nothing.”

His breath hitched. “How did you -?”

“You never responded,” Rhodey revealed, his voice going uncharacteristically low with sorrow. “My letters. I sent you letters months ago. I sent a lot of them knowing they might disappear -” _get ripped apart and thrown away_ “- sent you a letter each week hoping one of them reached you, gave you months to respond, but you never did. Either… either they were really good at never reaching you -” _Hammer kept intercepting them_ “- or something happened to you.”

Tony pushed himself back, dislodging the three from him. His ears and tail were low, showing his regret for making his friends worry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. Any of you. I didn’t know about the letters. I was - I was gone by that time… I think. Unless he… unless they managed to hide from me before that.”

“Don’t apologize, Tones. Never apologize. Not for… for that.” _For him._

“I still don’t understand how you’re here. What about your military pack? You weren’t discharged, were you?”

“I asked for leave time to visit my best friend and make sure he’s fine. That’s why I sent the letters, to tell you about it. When I learned what happened I started searching, hearing what I could, finding clues and even trying to think like you. I sent Pepper a letter hoping she could help keep an eye out. Raise the possibility of one of us spotting you. I didn’t actually expect them to leave their pack and find me to help in the search.”

“You _left_ your _pack?_ ” Tony almost shrieked.

“You were _missing_ ,” Pepper scolded, the only reason they apparently needed. “You were gone, somewhere out there alone with no way to contact you. Of course we were going to leave in order to find you.”

“But your _pack_ , Pepper.” Tony didn’t understand. How could they leave their pack just to search for him?

“That business pack meant _nothing_ to us. It was something we were used to, a pack we understood, but if someone were to make us choose between a pack full of wolves that cared for nothing but their next trade, or a very dear friend we love with all our hearts, you can bet your tail we would choose you. Don’t act surprise, Tony.”

“But… you’re packless now…”

“Not so much, Boss,” Happy said, ears perked up. “Rhodes over there has been acting as our alpha leader during our search. Pretty sure at this point we might as well call ourselves a pack.”

That was news. Bad news. If Rhodey’s military pack were to catch wind of Rhodey creating his own pack they might think he’s abandoning them and might dishonorably discharge him for it. “Please tell me you haven’t been seen by any military packs out there,” Tony begged.

Rhodey shrugged and Tony wanted to hit him for how casual he looked. As if it wasn’t important if he got discharged or not. “Probably. Doesn’t matter if I did or not either way.”

“What do you mean it _doesn’t_ matter?”

“It doesn’t because I left my old pack. Call it retirement if you want, but the leave they gave me wasn’t enough time. I needed more to scour every road and every stone and every forest and every inch of land to look for you.”

Tony was nearly speechless. “But… but your career -”

“Was served devotedly by me,” Rhodey gave him a pointed look. “For years. I think I’m long overdue for some time for myself that doesn’t involve sailing the sea.”

“Rhodey…”

“Tony.” Rhodey leaned closer and licked the side of his snout. “This is my choice and I decided if leaving my pack meant finding you then so be it.”

Tony tried swallowing the lump in his throat. He wasn’t worth leaving a pack for and yet that was exactly what Rhodey, Pepper and Happy had done. They traded in their homes for traveling the lands searching for him, all the while Tony had been sleeping comfortably on a warm bed with a roof over his head and cuddling together with his pack. They had given up their comfortable lifestyle for his sake and he had nothing to give back to them for it.

“I’m sorry…”

Rhodey gave a soft growl, nipping the fur on his cheek. “Stop that.”

Another apology for apologizing so much was on his lips but a different growl, one that wasn’t so soft or well meant, started behind him. Rhodey pulled away to look at the one responsible and when Tony turned to see who it was he was met with Steve’s frown. No, not him, _Rhodey_ was met with Steve’s frown.

“Steve?” Tony said cautiously, worried they might have done something wrong. Steve was his pack leader after all, and friend or not Rhodey was still a stranger to Steve and all his alpha leader was seeing was an omega in his pack getting friendly with another alpha.

Steve seemed to snap out of whatever mentality he had been. He visibly appeared surprised by his own actions, shook his head, and sheepishly ducked his head down for a second before standing tall and proud. He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like an embarrassed whine, “Who are your friends?”

Tony relaxed when he felt Steve come closer and pressed his side against his own. The warmth of having him close soothing the earlier tension. “Steve,” he turned his body to include his pack standing behind him, “everyone, these two are Pepper and Happy, my very dear friends who did something dense searching for me.”

Pepper glared at him while Happy huffed. Rhodey rolled his eyes.

“We heard,” Jan said for them all. “You left your pack and traveled the land to search for Tony. Anyone who does that for their friend is fine and dandy in my book. I approve of you three.”

“Can we keep them, Steve?” Clint wagged his tail expectantly and grinned through Sam swatting him and hissing a “ _Clint,_ ” at his ear.

Steve didn’t exactly look happy at the suggestion but he didn’t voice it. In fact, what came out of his mouth was the exact opposite. “Any friends of Tony’s are welcomed to stay with us. We’ve got plenty of room to host you.”

Rhodey stared at the golden alpha skeptically, probably noticing the two personalities. Pepper and Happy were hesitant, naturally not wanting to make the first move considering this was a much larger _war_ pack. And while Steve gave the go ahead Tony was also hesitant in making a suggestion, not wanting to push his friends on his pack and receive a negative reaction.

He had never been so thankful for Clint’s blunt personality than he was at that moment when the beta trotted over, stood suspiciously close to Rhodey and said, “Our great leader has spoken and I’m taking full advantage of your stay with us. You’ve got stories about puppy Tony? I need to know every embarrassing detail there is.”

Tony gave a whine of mortification at the idea but it did the trick and slowly the pack came closer and merged Rhodey, Pepper and Happy into their circle. One by one his pack personally introduced themselves, accepting his friends with near open arms. Loki, Bucky, Natasha and Steve held back. Loki because he naturally acted as if he didn’t care and Bucky and Natasha because they were to keep a watchful eye for potential dangers, even if the dangers claimed to be Tony’s friends. Steve… Steve didn’t look to want to make any interactions with them at all, or at least with Rhodey. He plastered himself against Tony and licked around his face, not even giving Tony a chance to add to the small talk going around.

“Steve?”

“Yes?” Steve said in-between licks.

His alpha kept pressing against him, making him lie down with his belly flat against the ground and Steve’s front leg over his shoulder. Well… at this rate their moon run wasn’t going to continue, and everyone seemed to come to an agreement for it, seeing as they all had already gotten comfortable by sitting or lying down. Thor sat upright and managed to loom over them all with the black python that was Loki wrapped around his mane. Rhodey, Pepper and Happy kept a safe distance away from him, looking very uncomfortable at having a giant lion with a python so close. Tony could easily imagine their tails between their legs.

A booming laugh from Thor made their ears go lower and hunch a little but they laughed along awkwardly when Jan and Clint continued their tale of how Tony and even Bruce ended up joining the Avengers. Eventually their awkward laughing became genuine when the conversation somehow changed from Tony’s first meeting to Clint’s recent mishap that involved a tree, grease and a bunch of leaves and twigs.

Steve didn’t join in on the laughter, too focused on apparently grooming Tony until every inch of him smelled of Steve. Tony had to wonder if he was truly fine with his friends staying. The last thing he wanted was to force Steve and move against his leadership. It was his pack, after all. He made the decisions, choosed who was to join and who was not, and Tony was grateful that he offered a place to stay for his friends, but just because Tony was his mate didn’t mean he had a say when the pack was involved.

He really hoped he wasn’t pushing Steve’s patience.

So if Steve wanted to groom him then Tony was going to remain still and let him, even if it meant being unable to talk or get close to his friends. Tony owed him for letting them stay, so anything Steve wanted Tony would do.

He remained put as Steve continued licking spots after spots on him. Even licking one spot over and over again, the one where Rhodey had given him a comforting brush. Sometimes he would catch Rhodey’s or Pepper’s questioning eye and he tried to give them his best smile to show it was all fine. Sure he couldn’t go to their side like he really wanted to. To feel their warmth and their fur and know they were still there, but just seeing them was enough it. Besides, he’d eventually get his chance to catch up with them. He had plenty of time in the future, depending on how many days they were to stay. No need to worry.

Except… when they eventually called it a night and returned back home with Rhodey, Pepper and Happy coming along Tony didn’t even get a chance to show them around without Steve hovering around him, growling softly each time Rhodey got close. Each growl made Tony hunch ever so slightly, both in fear of a fight breaking out and the knowledge that… his alpha growling at his best friend meant that his alpha didn’t want him talking or getting close to Rhodey. He got the message with Hammer always constantly telling him to drop every and all connection with his childhood friend. He knew what was going on.

He prayed Steve wouldn’t eventually demand the same of him, that perhaps he still needed to warm up to Rhodey, needed to get used to the stranger alpha hanging around his pack. But as the sun appeared and brought with it the next morning Tony realized Steve would require more than a day or two to finally feel comfortable having Rhodey nearby.

Tony managed to have a small conversation with Rhodey involving how many months he was on the road searching and the roads he had traveled before Steve decided it had gone long enough and came over to pointedly sit next to Tony and frown at Rhodey. The atmosphere filled with tension from his appearance and Rhodey knew not to push so he excused himself, gave Tony a regretful glance and left. Tony watched him go with a heavy heart, not feeling at all relaxed or cared for when Steve kissed his forehead.

It continued to the third day and reached to the fourth without change. On the fifth day Tony began to accept it was going to be Hammer all over again and soon Steve would demand him to stop speaking to Rhodey, or just kick Rhodey out in general. Perhaps Tony didn’t even need to reveal Steve the truth about his barren nature. He was ready to leave if it meant he was able to say more than five sentences to his best friend.

He would go with sorrow, sure. By that point he came to accept that Steve had won the little pieces that used to be his heart over and the thought of leaving Steve was heartbreaking alone, but… Rhodey had been there for years. Rhodey was the one to give him his baby bird and was the one he called brother. Rhodey was family and… and he and Pepper and Happy were all Tony had of his once decent childhood. Tony loved… he _loved_ Steve, he did, but he didn’t know if he’d survive Steve ordering his past away.

He wasn’t ready for it. He was scared of the inevitable outcome that was slowly making it’s way to them. He just hadn't expected the outcome to happen so soon by _his_ hand.

He had been chatting with Pepper, or more specifically, he had managed to have a decent exchange of sentences with Pepper before Steve appeared. Pepper visibly tensed, knowing full well what was to come once Steve sat next to Tony. He would stare at her while pulling Tony closer, showing he wouldn’t tolerate her physically touching him.

Tony might have gotten a temper from that. While he understood Steve posturing against Rhodey, another alpha, he didn’t get how Steve could posture against Pepper, a beta who was mated with Happy and, as his name would say, she was very happy about it.

Tony had gotten up, dislodge Steve’s arm around his shoulders, gave his best attempt at a growl and glared at him, consequences be damned. He snapped. “Will you stop that! This is _Pepper_ , she’s my _friend_ , she’s not a threat and she’s not posing as one by talking to me. I understand doing it with Rhodey, I do, but she’s a _beta_. The last thing she wants is to make you angry.” He took a deep breath, voice cracking from the pressure. “I haven’t seen her in _years_ and I can’t even talk to her because you keep doing this. It’s not - it’s not _fair_ , Steve. Leave me alone and let me - let me -”

He couldn’t even finish what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Steve to let him keep his friends, wanted to beg not to be ordered to stop talking to them, wanted to plead not to have them turned away, but it was all stuck in his throat. He had pressed his clenched hand against his chest, shaking it uncontrollably from his emotions. He had closed his eyes and never noticed Steve stand or saw the regretful eyes on his alpha.

“Tony…”

Tony flinched at his name, having expected Steve to lash out and shout at him for disrespecting his pack leader. But nothing happened.

“I - I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was… I’m so sorry, Tony. I - I -”

Steve sounded broken, sounded remorseful, so Tony opened his eyes and nearly stumbled when he saw the building tears in his blue eyes. The alpha blinked, causing the tears to fall before bowing his head and taking off. Tony didn’t see him go. He only stared at the spot the alpha had been just seconds ago. The anger in him had vanished, leaving behind shame. He didn’t know how it was possible since he was the one wronged in the situation, but damn was it happening.

His own tears started. He had ordered Steve to leave him alone, disrespected his alpha and pack leader, and basically handed over a reason to be kicked out. This was it. Steve was slipping through his fingers.

A whistle nearly made him jump. So unexpected for his current situation. Bucky walked over to him while staring at the direction Steve most likely left to. “Didn’t know you had it in you. The shouting,” he elaborated when Tony frowned in question. “I knew Stevie was getting overbearing and you’d eventually snap, but actually seeing it happen? I’m impressed. Lets me know you won’t take everything Steve does or says.”

“Is he always like that?” Rhodey asked from his spot in the common room. To Tony’s growing shame everyone was present in the room, looking at him in a different light.

“Don’t hold it against him,” Bucky said but nodded to the question. “He’s… he acts confident, and he is, to a certain extent, but when it comes to mates it’s a whole other story.”

Jan came forward. “Don’t let him know we told you this, but Steve is actually very insecure when it comes to relationships, or specifically when it comes to you.”

Tony’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? But he’s so -” _attractive._

Bucky understood what he meant. “He is, but he wasn’t always. What you see now? It happened shortly after his teen years ended. He grew up on a short side of everything and hardly had any meat on his bones. To many it wasn’t exactly attractive, but once he gained his muscles and his height he suddenly had wolves of all orientations throwing themselves at him. These days he doesn’t know if anyone likes him for his body or for himself. That’s what he’s insecure about.”

Tony was still confused. How did that tie in with Steve’s recent attitude with his friends?

“Steve found you,” Bucky continued, “and unlike all those wolves out there that flaunted themselves at him, you were everything he was looking for. You didn’t throw yourself at him, you didn’t constantly comment about his figure, if anything each time you dared to actually see him you looked like you wanted to run the other way as if your tail was on fire.”

He felt himself flush. So they _had_ noticed his hesitation in the beginning. Great.

“It’s not a bad thing,” Jan assured. “It told us you weren’t using him. You were genuine, and now that Steve’s got you he’s terrified of losing you.”

“Losing me?” Tony repeated. “But I would _never_ \- not unless _he_ doesn’t want me anymore.”

“We know that, but all Steve sees is you, your friends coming back for you, an alpha being friendly, you being happy with said alpha, and a love story he made up in his head of your best friend coming back for what he lost and both of you running off to a happily ever after.”

“ _What?_ ” Both Tony and Rhodey shrieked together. They briefly glanced at each other and turned away with a grimace.

Bucky shrugged. “Like we said, he’s insecure and it’s blinding him from the truth. Clearly you two are brothers but he doesn’t see that. He thinks you’re going to leave him. It’s only a matter of when.”

Tony was speechless, mouth opening and closing from the lack of words. He knew Steve didn’t want him spending time with Rhodey, but he didn’t think _this_ was why. He thought it was a typical alpha moving in on another alpha’s territory and needing to defend it, not fearing his mate was going to run off with another alpha and leave him behind. “I’d - _no_ \- _why_ would I leave him when I lo -” he snapped his mouth shut, realizing at the last second what he was about to say.

It didn’t make a difference. They all knew damn well what he was going to claim. They all grinned as his face turned red. Even Rhodey and Pepper.

“Declarations of love aside, you should really go to him,” Jan suggested. “The poor fellow is going to think the worst and damage could be done if it’s not stopped soon. Don’t worry. We’ll stay down here and give you all the privacy. Just try not to break through the ceiling.”

Tony agreed to the first portion of her statement but was turning even redder towards the end and babbled something when she winked. He left to avoid any more embarrassment and managed to catch a “So, you’re basically single, right?” from Clint and watched as he and Sam stood casually near Rhodey.

He rushed to Steve’s room and knocked desperately against it. “Steve.”

There was shuffling inside but the door remained closed. A careful turn of the knob revealed the door unlocked and he took a quick breath before opening it and stepping through. The sight he found made his heart break.

Steve was sitting on the edge of his bed, head down on his crossed arms over his knees. He was sniffling, clearly crying, and it prompted Tony to move quickly. He kneeled in front of him and placed his hands on the alpha’s knees. “Steve…”

The alpha didn’t respond.

“Steve… please look at me.”

There was a faint whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Tony felt odd being the one to comfort the other when it was usually him broken and crying. It just showed how much he had yet to learn of the alpha. “I didn’t mean it, Steve. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you away.”

“You did,” Steve shook his head. “You did. I didn’t notice what I was doing. I should have, but I didn’t. I was controlling you when I promised myself I would never -” his voice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you didn’t mean to, Steve.” Tony kissed the golden locks. “I - I know controlling… and that wasn’t controlling. You were possessive, sure, but you never ordered anything of me. You just… became a second shadow to me. A very intimidating second shadow.”

Steve curled himself further.

“Please, Steve… look at me.”

It took seconds but eventually Steve did lift his head enough to reveal his watery blue eyes. Tony couldn’t resist kissing his forehead, wanting to brush the sadness away. “I didn’t know you were doing it because you were worried I’d leave you. I thought you just didn’t want me talking to any of my friends.”

More tears built up. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. I don’t want to keep your friends away -”

“I know,” Tony kissed him again. “I know. I forgive you, but I need you to know that you never have to worry about Rhodey or Pepper or even Happy. Rhodey is my brother and always will be. He sees me as nothing but his little brother, calls me that all the time. And Pepper is mated with Happy. The last thing she wants to do is run off with me.”

“I know,” Steve admitted. “I know, but I can’t help - I just see you so happy with them. They made you smile so easily and all they did was _appear_.”

“Of course they did, Steve. I haven’t seen them in years. If you were to reunite with Bucky after being separated for years how would you react?”

Steve paused, probably imagining the scenario and grimacing. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand.”

“Love doesn’t exactly make you see reason, does it?”

Tony’s breath hitched and his heart skipped a beat.

“I… I just said that out loud, didn’t I?” Steve’s lips curled upward awkwardly, eyes puffy and red and a sob escaped him. “This isn’t exactly how I wanted to tell you.”

He made a noise in the back of his throat. Response ready but unable to say it yet.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know.” Steve lifted his head up to stare at the ceiling. “I want you to know how much I love you. So much it almost hurts. My chest feels heavy each time I look at you and I fall a little more in love from it. I want to see you every day. I want to see your smile, hear your laugh, learn about everything that makes you happy and the things that make you sad. I want to see your best and your worst and feel you in my arms every hour of every day and make sure you're eating and getting plenty of rest.” He looked down again, blue eyes connecting with brown. “I love you so much that the thought of losing you is… is… I can’t even say it.”

Tony understood what he wanted to say. “Steve -”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel you couldn’t talk to your family. I’ll learn to control my jealousy, I promise. Please, don’t leave me.”

Tony gently grabbed his alpha’s face and pulled him down to kiss him fiercely on his lips. “I won’t,” another kiss, “I won’t. I love you, too. I love you.”

The tears were back, but not from sadness. Steve slid down from his bed and hit his knees on the ground, embracing Tony and holding him close.  “I love you. I love you so much, Tony. I love you.”

“Me, too. I love you, Steve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed and hope it brightened your day!  
> Get ready for the next chapter because smut is coming your way.  
> You're all my Valentines. Cheers. <3


	24. Heated Tumble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring you all nothing but porn with feelings!! 
> 
> Happy early birthday i_soleomnly_swear_i_am_a_shipper! Here's your porn gift.  
> And happy birthday to anyone who's celebrating today or who's birthday has passed or birthday is coming up. Enjoy the porn! 
> 
> Now remember, this is intersex and this chapter only has vaginal sex. If you are not okay with that skip this chapter and wait for another time where anal sex happens. 
> 
> If you're more than fine and dandy about it, carry on!

Steve held him long after the apology, long after the alpha’s tears dried up and long after their declaration of love. Now it was just a matter of who dared to move first and stop their loving moment together. Tony almost didn’t want either of them to give in, content with having Steve wrapped around him, protective and relaxed and filling Tony’s nose with his soothing scent. He could have stayed like that all the way until the sun descended and the moon basked the land under its light. He could have, but eventually they’d have to start their tired muscles or risk getting a cramp or two.

Just so happened it was his neck that gave in. He had his head on Steve’s shoulder that had a couple of inches of height on him and forced it in an upward angle, straining his neck. He pulled back just enough to level it. His movement prompted Steve to also pull back and just remain there and stare at him, eyes still a little bit red from crying and yet soft and elated. He continued staring, so much so that Tony felt himself blush from the intense gaze that wouldn’t stop.

“Steve -”

The alpha interrupted him, kissing his cheek then moving to his forehead and to his nose and finally stopping at his lips to peck over and over again. Tony melted at the contact, sighing as he relaxed and allowed the alpha to do as he pleased. Steve’s arms moved to wrap around his lower back, sending a tingle down his spine. He made a soft noise when one of Steve’s hands squeezed his side, holding his flab between his fingers and making Tony flush in mortification from both the action and his own body’s response to it. Heat started building in his belly and blood soon started rushing south faster than Tony could’ve attempted to stop. No amount of imagining unattractive things would’ve helped him, not when Steve tightened his hold and gave a tug to lift Tony up and straddle his thighs, prompting Tony to sit higher and change the angle of their kissing. Steve now had his head upward while Tony faced downward.

Tony gasped softly against Steve’s lips. The friction from the movement certainly didn’t help his libido to stop and his body was more than happy to show it. Steve moved his hands to grab his hips gently and trail him upwards, making Tony’s growing erection rub against Steve’s clothed stomach. Tony’s heart beat heavily in his chest as his blood and heat began rushing through his body and for a brief moment he panicked. It had been so long since his body willingly rose to the intimacy with his alpha. So much so that he almost got dizzy at how quick his body was to jump right at it, and he was also slightly terrified at how Steve would react to smelling his heated scent. That thought was quickly shot down, however, when the alpha manipulated his hips again to grind on the very evident erection attempting to escape the confines of Steve’s pants.

Steve groaned from the sensation, encouraging Tony to try on his own and lift his hips to repeat the motion. Tony's own pants trapping his dick made it very uncomfortable and straining to move smoothly, but the fabric rubbing against his slit more than made up for the effort put. He felt a small amount of slick form and bring with it the smell of lust-filled omega into the air. Steve outright moaned at that, giving a low growl of want. He pulled away from Tony’s lips to kiss the side of Tony’s neck, nipping with his lips. Tony could practically feel the alpha strain from doing something, the body under him tensing up.

Then the alpha seized all movement, making Tony panic. Had he done something wrong?

“Tony…” Steve managed, resting his forehead on Tony’s shoulders to stop any temptation. “Not until you’re ready. Not until you’re ready…”

Tony found Steve’s sheer will to resist incredible. As far as the alpha knew he had a willing body straddling his lap with clothing the only thing standing in the way. Tony’s body was giving off the scent of heat, of an omega ready to mate, and yet Steve still stopped himself to think about his well-being. That made Tony want to please him even more. Steve deserved it and Tony wanted to show him how much he loved the alpha. If that required him pleasuring his mate with his body than Tony was willing to do it, pain and all. For Steve it was worth it.

“I am,” he said as he pushed his hips down. He could enjoy and take satisfaction from their coupling before the actual penetration happened and brought with it its pain. “I am.”

Steve whined, his hips twitching up in an action that seemed out of his control. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” was all Tony managed to say before Steve claimed his lips again in a fierce and possessive kiss. His hands moved lower, cupping Tony’s ass and sending sparks to go right to his dick and cunt. With the grip Steve lifted him up as he stood to sit back on the bed, causing Tony to sit on his lap with his knees folded on the edge. His slit rested right over the alpha’s bulge, pushing his folds to rub ever so slightly and causing more slick to build and for some of it to leak out. He rubbed against the bulge, imagining the alpha already in him and causing the same pleasure that came from just having his dick stroked.

Steve moaned against his lips, hands consciously - or unconsciously - kneading his cheeks and running over his thighs. The twitch of strength that occasionally made itself known by squeezing enough to possibly leave bruises showed how much the alpha was holding himself back, showing an incredible feat of control. Tony had a small moment of guilt for making the alpha suffer and quickly moved to remedy that. He reached down between his legs to palm the bulge under him. He was shocked to find the bulge felt larger than he had expected, far larger than what he had ever felt with Hammer, and this was with Steve still wearing his pants.

Tony hesitated. If it already hurt with Hammer’s… and Steve proved to be far larger than him… would Tony survive the experience without adding new sets of scars to himself?

No, he couldn’t stop now. This was for Steve and Steve was worth every little discomfort.

It took a bit of encouraging but eventually Steve managed to dislodge his hands from Tony to unbutton his pants just enough and released his erection that stood happily and proud at being freed. Tony swallowed at the confirmation of Steve’s size and girth. Far larger than Hammer and certainly thicker as well. Hammer didn’t come close to it. If this was Steve now… Tony couldn’t begin to imagine how big his knot would be. He prayed their coupling wouldn’t cause him to bleed. He didn’t want to add to Steve’s list of unintentionally hurting him and having to apologize.

Not wanting to keep the alpha waiting any longer Tony got to work unbuttoning his own pants. It was awkward doing so while still straddling the alpha’s lap, but when his length sprung free he bit back a moan as Steve made a soft noise of appreciation and gently grasped it, running a finger over a visible vein. He groaned out loud when Steve maneuvered his hold to grab both their erections together and stroked. The difference in their size obvious when put next to each other and Tony’s eyes trailed down to Steve’s base where the receded knot was resting. The girth larger than Tony’s own. He couldn’t hold back humping the alpha’s lap after that sight.

Steve began pecking the soft part of his neck, licking and nipping and making Tony feel like putty. The mind numbing sensation going through his body making him momentarily lose mobility. His head fell heavily on Steve’s shoulder in an angle that gave the alpha more access to his neck, which Steve happily took advantage of. He latched on, barely scraped the surface of his skin with his teeth before pinching with his lips and sucking. Tony whined loudly from that. The ecstasy from getting partially marked nearly sending him to the edge. It wasn’t a complete claim, not without the correct spot (where an already existing and old scar rested) and not without the teeth leaving behind a fresh, crescent scar, but it was a small promise to the real thing and it left Tony wanting more.

Steve continued sucking on the spot, letting go to latch his lips just an inch away and begin again, expanding the bruised skin. As the alpha did it a fourth time Tony couldn’t hold back anymore and with the little strength he had he threw his weight down, hoping the action was enough to encourage the alpha to lie on his back. It was a slow process as Steve wouldn’t pause his assault on Tony’s neck long enough to do what Tony wanted, but eventually the alpha was flat on the bed and Tony was draped over him. The new position gave Tony more leeway and he eagerly made it known by grinding their hips together and making them groan.

Steve removed his hold on their lengths and trailed his hands down Tony’s back, down to the dip and pausing to have his palms rest over Tony’s ass and squeeze. Those same hands soon sneaked in under the fabric of Tony’s pants to grab it bare before pushing over the mounds and down to where his thighs started and give them a quick caress until finally trailing to the edges of Tony’s folds. The anticipation had Tony nearly gushing, slick trailing out in a steady flow, enough so that Steve scooped some up before circling his coated fingers to smear it around and dipping one ever so slightly in. Gentle and careful, as if trying to avoid causing any pain, one finger passed his folds and rubbed inside.

Tony moaned and unconsciously pushed back to get more of the sensation it created, wanting that finger to go deeper. He pulled away from Steve’s marking when a second finger entered and with shaking arms held himself over the alpha, taking note of the flush on his cheeks and the blue of his eyes barely visible from the pupils blown up in lust. The sight made Tony preen. _He_ was the one causing Steve to react like that. Steve was flushed and aching because of him. It wasn’t just getting an urge over with. Steve having a quick romp on the bed with a warm, faceless body to sate a need. No, Steve cared and loved who he was sharing his intimacy with and doing so with Tony was making the experience hotter and breathtakingly better.

The alpha’s dick literally twitching when Tony slowly moved his hand to pull his pants further down enough to reveal his pulsing lips could attest to it. The feeling from having a confined heat leaving for the cool exposure left him shivering and wanting to regain the warmth again. He pressed his body flush against Steve’s, welcoming the embrace from the furnace the alpha’s body created. The little space between them created enough room for Tony to pull his right pant leg down to his knee, revealing his shivers to the world.

Steve gave a whine of want before using his hand that wasn’t teasing Tony’s slit to pull the left pant leg down and run the edges of his fingers gently over his thigh, making Tony shiver even more. The alpha made another trip down to caress before finally returning his hand to its original spot.

With more effort than he wanted Tony pushed what was left of his pants off, needing to lift his legs in order to chuck the clothing to the ground. Doing so forced Steve to remove his fingers and Tony bit back a whine of displeasure from the loss. He sat upright again and with a hand on Steve’s shoulder as leverage and rising on his knees he angled himself to hover right over Steve’s crotch. The alpha’s erection had pearls of precum forming and running down the length. A proud sight for many eager to show off and posture against others and impress potential mates. For Tony… it was a familiar sight that always brought forth pain and constantly tested his abilities to hide his discomfort and fake the pleasure, but he had always passed in the end.

He’s had years of practice. This was an easily achievable task, though nerve wracking, but knowing it was Steve he was doing this for… yes, he could do it. He just had to prepare for the familiar pain his body still remembered, and his body certainly remembered it well if the way his erection dipped down from slightly going soft from the expectation was anything to go by.

He had to hurry. He reached for Steve’s dick and pulled it upward, giving it a stroke while mentally preparing himself for what was to come. Tony took a deep breath and held it as he lowered himself. As soon as the tip touched his lips he felt himself clench up in anticipated fear. He forced himself to relax, opening himself as much as he could and continued down. The tip pushed forward, parting his lips and piercing his walls and he cringed. Like an old friend that would never be forgotten but he never wanted to see again the sharp pain welcomed itself into his body and he began to shake.

He sunk excruciatingly slow, stopping every time the pain flared up with every beat of his heart. He wasn’t even halfway there yet. His fingers still felt a decent amount of space between himself and Steve and as he continued he could feel the girth of Steve’s dick forcing his walls to expand in a way that was never required for Hammer. Tony closed his eyes and pressed on. As the seconds ticked on he grew desperate. He wanted to sink down fully and start adjusting for the length and size and lessen the pain. And he wanted to give the pleasure Steve deserved, but he hesitated.

His heart jumped when hands grabbed his hips, thinking Steve got impatient and was ready to take matters into his own hands. Tony instinctively hunched and readied himself for the pain that would flare, but it never came. Those hands didn’t force him down like he had expected. No, those hands lifted him _up_ and made him sit gently on Steve’s stomach, away from the alpha’s dick and away from the entire purpose of their coupling.

Tony opened his eyes questioningly at the alpha and was met with Steve’s look of shock and horror. “What are you _doing?_ ”

Tony honestly didn’t know the problem. What had he done wrong this time? “I - we’re having sex… aren’t we?”

Those eyes grew wider. Usually not a good sign. “ _Tony_ \- that’s _not_ sex.”

He blinked. Very confused now. “I - it’s not?”

Steve pushed himself upwards, making Tony slide a little and leave a small trail of slick from having his slit rub along. “ _No,_ Tony that’s not sex, not when you’re clearly hurting yourself _doing_ it.”

Tony shut his mouth instantly, panicked. Steve had _noticed?_ How could he have - ? Tony had been doing his best! He hadn’t even been given the chance to fake his pleasure. How could Steve had caught on so fast? “I - I’m not hurting -”

“Tony,” Steve said gently, careful, “I’m not an idiot, not when it’s obvious you’re not enjoying this. At all.”

“I am!” he tried, “I am enjoying this.” _Or at least he was, so long as Steve continued with just his fingers._

“Maybe you were, but not anymore.” Steve moved to get up, making Tony sit on the bed and grow cold from the lack of contact.

In a last effort to not have everything they had done go to waste Tony snatched the alpha by the arm and pleaded. “I - I want it. Please, Steve. I want to, with you. As long as it’s with you it doesn’t matter.”

The face Steve had wasn’t exactly encouraging. Sadness was the last thing anyone wanted when mating was to occur. Tony deflated, pulling his hand away and ready to walk the walk of shame out of the room. He had ruined something so simple, something he had done for years. Only Tony Stark would be capable of ruining sex.

Steve stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. His expression eventually changed to determination. “Can I try something?”

Tony felt so relieved he didn’t even think twice about saying, “Yes, anything.” Steve wanted to continue. There was still a chance to salvage this.

“Lie down on your back,” Steve ordered. Tony’s back was on the bed faster than he could’ve nodded, but Steve wasn’t satisfied. “Get your entire body on the bed. Legs, too.”

Tony used his arms to row up on the bed, feeling the soft fabric of the blankets tickle his bare ass. He moved up enough to use the piled pillows and let himself slump on them. Looking down now and taking in the sight he made, still wearing a shirt while completely naked and exposed below the waist, he felt a little awkward, and his belated fear began making its appearance. What did Steve have in mind?

As he got comfortable Steve made his way to the door to close it shut (that he had forgotten he left open) before returning and getting rid of his shirt and pants in the process. Tony enjoyed the view immensely. The toned muscles, the pecs, and the incredible show of legs. It was a beautiful sight. The alpha then crawled on the bed and nudged Tony’s legs to spread them open. With his cheeks burning Tony did so, offering himself willingly. He watched as Steve got comfortable kneeling between his legs. He half expected Steve to continue where they left off and sink himself inside of Tony, taking Tony’s words of reassurance to heart. The other half of him was both curious and frightened at what the alpha had in mind in trying something different.

“Ready?” Steve ran his fingers over Tony’s inner thigh, making him shiver.

He nodded and prepared for anything the alpha planned on, but naturally, as Steve had done so in the past, everything Tony had anticipated and was ready for never occurred. Steve surprised him, yet again, when he simply leaned forward to hover his entire body over Tony’s and kissed him long and gentle, nearly taking Tony’s breath away. Tony hadn’t expected this but he wasn’t going to complain. He reciprocated eagerly and even chased Steve’s lips when the alpha pulled away to kiss his chin and his jaw and down to his throat and to his collarbone, leaving a trail of affection behind.

Distracted by his kisses Tony never noticed the alpha sneaking his hands under his shirt and running them up to his chest until the dragging of the cloth tickling his skin made him jump. Tony instantly stopped the traveling appendages from finishing their task. The last thing he wanted was for Steve to see his scarred chest, get disgusted and hault their coupling entirely.

“No, leave it on, please,” Tony said, pleading.

“Tony…” Steve frowned in concern.

“It’s… not pretty.” No point in lying. “Not something you want to see.” Steve didn’t look convinced. “The scars on my chest aren’t the most attractive things.” He sighed, looking down.

“Tony,” Steve kissed him again, smiling now and looking at him as if he was silly for even saying that. “You’re talking to the leader of a _war_ pack. We have scars from battle and even scars that are not from battles. We aren’t exactly blemish free so why do you think I’ll get disgusted seeing yours?”

Tony played with the wrinkle on his shirt bashfully. He guessed when Steve put it that way it was rather silly to think the alpha would turn and run after seeing his chest.

“May I?”

He swallowed and nodded as he retracted his hands to allow his alpha to continue what he was doing. Steve pushed his shirt all the way up to wrinkle it over his collarbone and revealing the entire mess of spiderwebs that was his chest. Those fingers of his traced the larger of the scars for a moment before he dipped down to kiss them. Tony sucked in a breath when Steve’s tongue made an appearance, trailing one particular scar from his collarbone down to his ribs and back to follow a different path. One scar led right to his nipple and the moment Steve’s tongue flicked over it Tony arched his back a little. His reaction seemed to encourage the alpha as he latched on with his lips and sucked, sending a ripple of pleasure down his spine and making him squirm.

“Steve…”

Steve gave one more lick before moving to the other nub, giving it the same treatment and sending a hot flash all over his body. Those lips and that tongue sucked and licked and nibbled and it was driving Tony crazy, even more so when Steve continued down to kiss over his ribs and down to his naval and even further down to give the tip of his dick a kiss. Tony would’ve bucked his hips if it wasn’t for the fact that Steve had pinned them down, leaving him immobile. Then Steve did something he hadn’t expected at all. He took in all he could of Tony’s length into his mouth, enclosing Tony in a warmth he didn’t know existed. Tony cried out in pleasure, grasping the pillows for dear life as Steve’s tongue did things he never experienced before. He was never on the receiving end of it. It was usually Tony giving to Hammer, but as Steve sucked and bobbed his head back and forth he understood why Hammer demanded so much of it.

Tony’s dick throbbed in that warm channel Steve provided and his cunt grew hotter from the stimulation, creating more slick and causing it to trickle down and pool on the bed. At one point Steve took as much as he could, opening up his throat and keeping still before creating a rumble in his chest that rippled up to Tony and made him moan loudly. He didn’t know how much more he could take it. The new sensations were far beyond him and he was honestly surprised how his body was still going for this long. He could feel his peak reaching, his body wanting to explode, but just as he felt the tension giving away Steve pulled back with a loud ‘pop’ and let his length swing back to his stomach.

Tony wanted to complain at that, to ask why he stopped and just in general beg for him to continue what he was doing. He must have showed it all on his face because Steve chuckled breathlessly and gave his inner thighs kisses as if asking for forgiveness. He latched onto his left thigh with his lips and sucked, leaving behind a bruise. Then out of nowhere he bit down and made Tony hiss from both pain and pleasure. That was certainly a first.

Steve pushed his legs further apart after giving his bitten thigh a final kiss. Tony managed to catch his eye, seeing something unrecognizable in those barely seen blues blown wide from the lust. Tony gasped softly when Steve, still maintaining eye contact, went forward and down between his legs, appearing to go for his length again but missing it by a mile as he went further down and blew softly where the base ended, over his sack and where the surface of his cunt began, tickling his hair. Tony managed to catch sight of Steve opening his mouth before the bottom half of his face disappeared. Then he felt a warm, wet tongue run over the edges of his lips and all the air in his chest left in an instant.

Steves tongue traced his folds, barely making contact and leaving Tony wanting more. Eventually Steve started licking in earnest after the third tease, sinking his tongue deeper and deeper and lapping where he could reach for a moment before going down to lick around his slit. When that tongue pushed through his folds Tony moaned and squirmed in place. The heat built up quickly. Without his control his hips rolled and made his slit collide with Steve’s face. He couldn’t see but he could feel Steve’s chin and lips over his folds and his nose was buried right over the surface of his crotch, but that wasn’t enough to stop Steve’s tongue once during the ordeal. It continued licking and circling and in a daring move he separated Tony’s folds to reveal his hole and the slick rushing out. He ran his tongue around it before pinching and sucking gently with his lips, sending Tony over the edge.

He came with a shout, clutching the pillows and blankets and bringing his knees up as he tried to close his legs, but Steve’s arms prevented that. Even through his double orgasm Steve continued his ministrations, going so far as to lapping up the slick that resulted in his climax as if it was a delicious treat and _humming_ in contentment. He kept licking long after the slick was cleaned off and circling his tongue over and over the opening. Tony arched his back, bucked his hips and moved his arms without thought, but no matter how much he moved Steve never once stopped. He didn’t appear fazed at all and just obediently followed when Tony pulled his hips away or pushed against him.

Tony whined when a finger slowly accompanied Steve’s attentions entered him, rubbing softly against his walls before the finger pulled back and entered again. Two stimulations and now Tony had no control of his legs as they spasmed. The pleasure going through his body was intense and overwhelming. He had already gone through one climax, and while his dick didn’t seem interested in trying again, his cunt was pulsing with heat and want and soon with Steve’s gentle and skilled care he was reaching his peak again. He arched high when his second orgasm reached him and cried in an ecstasy he was unfamiliar with and couldn’t believe he had been living without.

He was oversensitive from his body pushing farther than ever before and he was thankful when Steve pulled his tongue away in favor of smacking his lips. He lifted his head high enough for Tony to see his chin smeared with his slick and the alpha gazed lovingly at him. The fond expression Steve showed had him looking sweet and innocent but the bottom half of his face glossed with evidence of what he had done just a couple of seconds ago said otherwise. The imagery was both arousing and mortifying. Arousing because that was Tony’s slick decorating Steve’s face, like a mark not meant to be seen in public. Mortifying because that was _Tony’s slick decorating Steve’s face_ and Steve was radiating smugness, as if he had just accomplished a great feat.

Tony groaned, hoping it expressed everything he had felt and was currently feeling. His heart had calmed down and he felt loose and sated. He didn’t believe himself capable of moving even if he wanted to.

“Good?” Steve asked, kissing around the area he had licked and eyes never leaving Tony’s.

“Good,” Tony managed. “So good.” The best he’s ever had. The _only_ he’s ever had and he was grateful Steve would even give him the chance to experience it. Now more than ever he wanted to return the favor and give Steve the pleasure he deserved. “Please, can we?”

Steve stopped kissing and frowned. He seemed to understand what Tony was asking for but didn’t look to like the idea. For a moment Tony thought Steve would be opposed to it, worried about repeating their first attempt, but after giving one last kiss on his folds Steve stood up and made quick work of his drawers and had his still present erection stand proudly between his legs. The tip had a harsh red to it from the lack of attention and was lathered in precum. With the slick Steve wiped away from his chin he smeared it on his dick and held it as he kneeled in-between Tony’s legs again.

“Tony I need you to be honest, all right?” Steve said in a tone that was an edge away from pleading. “You have to tell me if you feel uncomfortable, even if it’s small.”

“I will,” Tony promised, fully intending on doing the exact opposite. This time he would do better. He was going to keep calm and show nothing.

As Steve adjusted him and nudged his legs further apart to expose his slit completely Tony tried his best to calm his heart that started beating heavy again in anticipation. Steve didn’t outright slam himself in Tony like Tony had expected him to. Instead Steve ran the tip of his dick over the folds teasingly a few times, circling and even slapping against it until finally he nudged it carefully inside in a near painfully slow pace. Tony tensed up involuntarily as he waited for the familiar pain to appear, but where the sharp feeling that resulted from a forced opening should’ve been… only pleasure was present. Pleasure and the odd sensation of his body willingly _opening_ up for the intrusion.

Tony’s walls allowed Steve to enter with little to no resistance and in one smooth move Steve was all the way in. Tony released the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. His eyes were wide and he was staring at the ceiling in wonder. There was no pain, no bleeding, nothing of discomfort and Tony couldn’t believe it. The feeling of Steve pulsing inside him was evident enough it was all real and _possible._ Tears build up against his will and soon he was mentally cursing everything that had to do with Hammer.

“Tony?” Steve was close now, panicked at seeing him cry.

 _It doesn’t have to hurt,_ Tony thought and covered his eyes with his hands. _It doesn’t have to hurt!_

The alpha began pulling out but Tony quickly wrapped his legs around his hips to keep him still. “Sweetheart…” Steve appeared lost now.

It _never_ had to hurt. “It’s not you, I swear. I’m just overwhelmed.” It was partially true. He was overwhelmed, frustrated, _angry_ that Hammer had ruined so much for him. The alpha had ruined something many took part in and always expressed delight for and made Tony believe he was the only one destined to suffer through it and Tony was _finished_ with it all. The tears, he was sure, were to express that.

He was finished, he was tired and he was ready to take every memory tainted by Hammer, pile it together and burn to the ground for the wind to take the ashes as far away from him as possible. He let his tears fall, let the memories under Hammer’s name slide out with every drop and wiped them away harshly, erasing them to never be brought forth again. This moment was about Tony and Steve only and Tony refused to let Hammer ruin it further. He wasn’t going to compare, he wasn’t going to believe, not until he experienced it with his pack, his family, and with Steve.

Tony leaned up to kiss Steve, ready to take the new steps and believe the truth. “I’m ready. Move, please.”

Steve naturally hesitated but moved nonetheless. It was a slow thrust but enough for Tony to know the experience was pure pleasure. It was brief but it was enough. Then Steve pulled back to thrust in again, picking up the pace when Tony moaned against his lips. The ecstasy was mindblowing. His walls welcomed Steve with opened arms, sucking him in and milking any and every drop Steve had to offer. His abdomen burned with want, with a need he never felt before, and only Steve could provide what was needed to sate it.

Steve quicken his movements and started grunting with every push. Tony moaned along with him as each thrust hit different spots in him and sent heat and pleasure all through his body. He could feel his walls practically squeeze around Steve with every push. Ready to keep him inside and refusing to let go. His body’s effort soon paid off as Steve’s thrust became erratic and just watching Steve lose control, getting just as much pleasure as Tony had gotten and creating something new, brought Tony to the edge. Tony came with a shout, clenching up and bringing Steve to his own climax. Tony cried again when he felt Steve bite down hard on the side of his neck over the old scar that once claimed him as Hammer’s. Steve marked over it, erasing it and leaving his own. It sent a shivering sensation all through his body and settled deep in his soul.

Tony felt the knot begin to grow and get caught by his walls, keeping them locked together and pushing Steve further inside him. The burning cum that his alpha released was sucked in eagerly by his body, every drop milked and welcomed.

So much happened at once that Tony blacked out for a bit and returned to Steve still knotted in him and licking his stinging bond bite, humming contently. Tony sighed and soaked in all the affection Steve offered. This was the truth. This was real.

“Back again, Sweetheart?” Steve stopped his licking to give him a kiss.

Tony nodded. Talking was currently too much effort.

“How do you feel?”

He moaned and bucked his hips a bit to show how he felt and made Steve groan from it. He involuntarily squeezed from the movement he caused and the alpha whined from the added pressure on his knot.

“Any pain?”

Tony smiled. There was no pain, no discomfort, nothing but a want that was finally sated for the first time in so long. “None whatsoever.”

Steve gave him one final long kiss. His eyes were lidded, probably ready to nap after all the pleasure their bodies went through. “I love you.”

New outlook, new experiences, and a new mark. Tony was ready and eager to finally appreciate his new life and love Steve with all he had.

“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who read the sneak peek of this chapter over at Tumblr and got trolled... hope this makes up for that! <3 
> 
> Watcha think? If you were waiting eagerly for the smut to finally happen was it everything you expected or nay?  
> Since we're on the subject, are any of you lovely readers waiting eagerly for something? More smut? Hammer making an appearance? The pregnancy? Hulk's hello? Steverevealinghe'sthetinyalphathatmadeapromisetohavetonyashismatewhenhegotolder? cough - what??


	25. Three Time's the Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now, we meet again!  
> So if you follow me or visit my Tumblr you're more or less aware of the reasons why it took forever to update. 
> 
> Fret not! This fic is not abandoned, just has many reasons why it was pushed back.
> 
> And now it'll probably be another slow update again because I got a new job! Yay. Bad thing it takes up a lot of my hours, so I'm for sure going to have less time to write for fun, but I promise to finish this! No matter how long it takes. Wait for me. <3
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter. Pooooooorn.

Tony woke up tired, sleeping not having left a dent to his fatigue. He felt extremely sticky and in need of a bath. His body sore in places he didn’t know he had (and sore in the one place he never imagined he’d ever enjoy to be). Muscles unfamiliar to him apparently having a workout for the first time and screaming at him for it, but despite all that he still managed to feel relaxed, content, and downright _happy_. He didn’t need to turn around to see who’s arm was wrapped protectively around his middle. He could smell it all around him. The wonderful smell that could only come from Steve. In the air, the soft furs he lied on, the pillow he rested on, the smell coming in herds behind him along with the warmth of the alpha’s body plastered on his back. If he were to take a deep enough breath he could note the smell of himself mixed in with Steve’s scent, almost as if making a claim on the alpha.

Claiming the alpha. Dare he believe Steve belonged to him just as much as he now belonged to Steve? He could still feel a sting pulsing through his body from the bite mark on his neck with every beat of his heart. He was claimed now, his neck proudly showing what he had recently craved with all his might. No one would mistake him as a single shifter. As for Steve… he wondered if the alpha would ever allow him to leave a bite mark of his own.

Perhaps one day.

One look around the room showed it late, the sun gone. They must have slept the day away after their… activities - oh, who was he kidding - after their _mating_. And after their mating Tony found himself awake for reasons revealed after his stomach rumbled and he wondered if there was anything available in the kitchen, and if not, could he possibly make something without waking the others up and without causing a huge mess.

When his stomach released another outcry and the feeling of being deprived of food after regularly feeding since joining the Avengers very discomforting it was decided he’d have to risk it. Now, how to remove the arm that felt like a binding at this point without stirring Steve up? Trying to pull at the wrist was no help as it prompted the arm to tighten even more and for Steve to pull him closer, burying his face against the back of his neck and shoulders. A smile pulled on Tony’s lips as the thought of Steve unconsciously not wanting to let him go crossed his mind. It probably wasn’t the actual reason, Tony had no way of knowing, but he could dream.

Another attempt at the wrist had the arm abandoning his middle and going lower on his abdomen, making him squeak as it stopped inches away from touching his uninterested length. Then he felt movement behind him. Steve’s face burying even closer as his larger shoulders shook and Tony narrowed his eyes as the movement and the huffing noises the alpha created sounded a lot like laughter and someone doing their best, and failing, to hold it in.

“Are you -” he started, wanting to ask if the alpha was laughing at him but quickly stopped when his voice cracked, last night making an appearance and causing him to turn red in embarrassment at how overused his voice sounded.

“The noise you made,” Steve said, and even with his voice muffled Tony could note the raspiness of it, equally overused as his own. “It was adorable.”

He blinked. “I- I… it’s not adorable!”

“So adorable.”

“It’s not.”

“Is too.”

“Not.”

“It is very much adorable.” With the hand now taking a new angle Steve ended up pulling his lower half up as he tried to get him closer. “My beautiful, incredible, omega.”

Tony would have said more but something in the tone of Steve’s voice stopped him, made his words have more meaning and made his own heart flutter.

Then Steve began leaving small kisses on his shoulder and the hand under his navel had its fingers creating small circles over his skin. His previously uninterested length stirred with no help whatsoever and Tony knew there was no stopping his body once it started.

There was no way to hide the smell he knew his body was emitting. There was no mistaking the heated scent released and he knew Steve knew this, and as Steve continued those small circles that oh so slowly went lower and lower with each completed shape he also had the feeling Steve knew _exactly_ what he was doing, too.

Blood and heat rushed south faster than Tony could’ve tried mentally stopping it. Not that he believed he could put a stop to it. Not with the way his body just pulsed in anticipation and memories and the pleasurable sensation he had experienced hours prior raced in his mind and through his nerves. A need grew within him. A need only his alpha could’ve filled.

Steve’s fingers seized their motion and splayed over his skin, palms pressed under his naval and staying still. “Tony… do you want to?”

It took an embarrassing couple of seconds for Tony to figure out Steve was asking if he wanted another round together, even when he had a willing body in his arms. It was a pleasant and unexpected reassurance, knowing that even after they coupled and he had, in a sense, given permission Steve wasn’t going to just take when he wanted. After experiencing multiple occasions where Steve managed to surprise him with his words and actions Tony couldn’t believe his alpha could _still_ catch him off guard, and all probably without Steve even realizing it.

The need and heat coursed through his body, demanding that pleasure that would make his nerves sing under Steve’s touch. He answered with a whispered “yes” and that was all Steve needed before he rolled them over, pressing Tony flat against the bed on his stomach and lifting his hips lightly. Tony half expected Steve to just thrust in, and in all honesty he wouldn’t have minded it so much. He trusted Steve. Even if he were to go rough somehow he knew his alpha wouldn’t actually hurt him. Instead, Steve continued to trail kisses all across his shoulders, holding his weight up with one arm while the other caressed along his hip and down his thigh before coming back up, repeating the motion over and over again.

Steve’s own hips pressed down on him, snuggled up perfectly against Tony’s ass and pushing out an undignified squeak from Tony as it grinded the alpha’s erection on him. Close enough that one small shift would put it just over his folds, but not where his body wanted it as heat pulsed and tried drawing the alpha in by sheer force. Steve gave a gentle thrust and caused his heated length to caress against Tony’s inner thigh before pushing against the skin right next to his cunt and keeping it there.

The movement made him unconsciously lift his hips further and spread his legs. Belatedly he realized he had presented himself slightly and as Steve kneeled in-between his opened legs and pushed them out further it was then his body finally released slick. Not the pathetically small amount he had always been prone to create before. Just for Steve his body went what felt above and beyond and nearly caused a gush to come out without effort. When the kisses Steve was lovingly leaving on his shoulders trailed higher to his neck Tony released a moan as his alpha’s lips brushed on the still soar and healing bite. He gasped when teeth bit softly over the crescent marks before quickly moving and sinking down on the purple skin Tony was still displaying from Steve’s earlier attention. Never once did his body tensed or flinched from it.

“I love you,” Steve pulled his teeth away just enough to whisper this against his bruised skin. “To have you here in my arms, to hold you…” The hand on his hip moved down between his legs, teasing his lips briefly before lining Steve up. The tip pushing against his folds just so. “I love you so much.”

Steve bit down again as he slowly sank in. Tony felt every inch of it, his body opening up just as before, being filled by his alpha. He buried his face on the soft blanket to muffle his moan. The thrusts were slow and gentle and every time his hips were pushed forward it caused Tony’s legs to slide up until eventually he was on his knees with the upper half of his body still pressed against the mattress.

Steve grunted next to his ear with every push, never releasing his neck. His pace shifted back and forth from the slow angle that allowed him to feel it all to a quick burst of speed that nearly hit every nerve in sudden succession before going back steady. It was overwhelming no matter what the alpha did and Tony felt how his walls latched onto Steve every time he pulled out, wanting him to stay put.

The heat in his belly grew with every second and as soon as Steve reached his hand down to stroke him Tony knew it wouldn’t take much now. He was going to reach his limit and from the way Steve’s thrust became erratic he knew his alpha was reaching his, too.

He groaned when one particular thrust combined with Steve rubbing the very tip of his dick sent him over the edge. His walls tightened, trying to encourage his alpha’s knot to pop and the idea of being knotted together again made his hips push back without his control, forcing his alpha to go deeper. He moaned from the sensation of Steve’s hot seed bursting in mixed with the pleasure of his own release and the feeling of triumph at having his alpha’s knot catch in his walls, locking them together. His nerves were on fire and it felt so good.

For a moment they remained like this. Steve still had his mouth on his neck, kissing the tender skin. Hard breathing filled their ears as their bodies calmed down from their high until eventually Steve pushed his arm between the bed and Tony’s chest, held him close, and moved them so they were lying down on their sides. Similarly to how they had woken up.

Eventually only the knot remained as the only evidence of what they had just done. That plus Steve’s burning seed and his own slick that had turned cold on his skin and made him feel uncomfortably sticky. What he would give for a bath on that moment. Then his stomach decided to remind him of his earlier problem and the reason why he had woken up in the first place. Because Steve had one of his hands splayed over his belly he not only heard it he felt it as well.

“Someone’s hungry.”

“Figured that out, did you?” Tony wiggled a bit, unconsciously clenching on the knot and causing Steve to whimper. Not what he intended but he was happy with the outcome.

“Want anything particular to eat?” Steve eventually asked when he collected himself.

“I was just thinking of getting some bread and cheese to snack on,” he admitted. He wasn’t exactly sure what he could make without waking their entire pack up. Bread and cheese was usually the safest bet.  

The way his stomach rumbled loudly again suggested a simple snack was not going to be enough to sate his hunger, though.

“I’ll make us something to eat as soon as we… you know, seperate.” To emphasize his point Steve ended up pushing his hips lightly, forcing Tony’s own to mimic the movement.

Tony held back a groan. “You’re playing dirty.”

“Never said I was perfect.”

He had a witty remark on the tip of his tongue but when Steve thrusted yet again that remark, along with any other thoughts, flew right out the window momentarily. He squeezed the knot back in revenge, feeling victorious when it stopped Steve’s thrusting on the spot and made him whine. His alpha wasn’t the only one who could play dirty.

The hand on his stomach circled around, bringing out goosebumps and reminding him how soiled he felt after their mating.

“What do you want to eat?” Steve asked against his skin.

As tempting as food was a bath seemed more preferable instead, especially when he felt another string of Steve’s seed flood within him. No way was he going to walk down to the kitchen without evidence of their mating trickling down his leg. No matter how thoroughly he’d try to wipe.

“I, uh, actually want a bath first. That’s if no one is using it at the moment.”

“I'm pretty sure our pack are either sleeping or they've already taken one themselves. Now that you mentioned it I could do with a bath, too. Care for some company?”

Tony’s brain stopped all at once. “Y-you want to join me?”

“Why not? Saves water, and it's not like you haven't seen me naked already.”

Fair enough, but still. One thing to have the mind fogged up from the heat and pleasure, another to be completely sober and focused and-

Steve kissed his shoulder. “Stop overthinking it, Sweetheart. If you don't want us to bathe together just say so. I'm not obligating you, just asking permission.”

Yes, yes of course. Steve was asking, letting Tony decide. He could decline or accept. It was his choice. And it was true. Not like he didn't already have Steve and all of his naked glory behind him. What's some water added to the mix?

“When do you want to take it?”

“We could right after we separate, how's that sound? Then I can prepare us something to eat.”

“Sounds perfect,” Tony sighed, snuggling in when Steve held him closer, one arm around his chest. He basked in the security he felt in his alpha’s arms and in the afterglow. Back to chest he felt every beat of Steve’s heart, finally calm after their coupling.

He must have fallen asleep shortly after. One blink he was on his side comfortably with a knot connecting them, and the next he was being shaken gently with no knot and no strong arms holding him anymore. Steve was hovering over his frame, pants on and hand on his shoulder as he stirred him awake.

“Sweetheart? Come on, up you go. I have the bath ready for us.”

Sleep heavy in his eyes the last thing on his mind was getting up and walking, but he knew he desperately needed a wash. He tried wiggling to the edge of the bed, but found two problems stopping him. One, he couldn’t feel his legs. The muscles were sore and refused to listen. Two, the smallest of movements prompted the seed he still had in him to leak out, dirtying both the bed and himself more. Two things that were enough reason for him not to move, so he didn’t.

It didn't deter Steve one bit. “Would you like me to carry you?”

That… didn't sound half bad actually, but Tony didn't have the courage to say yes.

He didn’t have to, though, for Steve’s eyes grew fond as he reached over to grab the edge of the rumpled blanket Tony lied on and pulled it over to cover him. He then lifted Tony up, blanket wrapped around him like a cocoon and all. Tony had the briefest of moments to appreciate his alpha’s strength, able to heave him with little trouble, then the slick and seed he was trying to prevent from getting out leaked with little trouble and he made a noise of mortification.

Steve kissed his nose in response and Tony couldn’t help resting his head on his shoulder and burying his face and relaxing to his scent. His alpha walked them out of the room, down the hall and down to the room where their bath was waiting. Steve chucked the blanket away, throwing it next to a pile of clothing already set for them. It seemed Steve had gotten more than just their bath ready.

Still in his arms the alpha walked over to the carved out spot with the drain and gently sat Tony down. The essential oils and rags were within arms reach and soon Steve brought two buckets full of warm water for them to use. He then sat comfortably behind Tony after taking his pants off, legs on either side of him, and scooped up water from the buckets to begin rinsing them.

Tony took care to wash his legs and spots where Steve couldn't reach. When they were deemed wet enough he leaned for the oils and lathered one of the rags with it, running it over his arms and shoulders, sides and over his belly. From behind he could feel his alpha doing the same.

Tony had believed washing along the alpha would have been awkward, or at least an odd experience. Not used to sharing time with others in the care of their bodies, for after a while Hammer had just ordered him to handle it and clean up on his own, Tony hadn't expected much in a sense of ‘comforting.’ Yet having Steve here lathering his own body and managing to casually sit naked behind him without even the slightest hint of it being sexual was strangely... warming. Made him experience new emotions.

Hands pressing on his back made him still for a moment, if only because he was curious as to what Steve was planning. He made a curious sound when those hands circled over his shoulders and down his lower back.

“Making sure to wash every inch of you,” Steve moved those hands back up and down his arms, taking care to go slow and gentle and soothing. He sighed and let his body slump against his alpha, enjoying the feel of the strong chest against his back and the caress over his skin. Steve moved sensually, rocking back and forth.

Perhaps too sensual. Tony squirmed when he ran those hands down his sides, holding back a laugh as it tickled. Those hands soon ran over his front. Over his belly and then up his chest and when Steve’s fingers flicked his nipples it caused his entire body to shiver.

“S-Steve.” It was shocking how quickly his body reacted, how his length gave a valiant twitch in interest for the third time in the same day. He was in his _forties_ for goodness sake. His libido _shouldn't_ be this active, or even trying. Where was it finding the energy?

Fingers caressed down, stopped right over his naval, returned up to trace his many scars before repeating the process a second, third and fourth time. Steve was for sure doing it on purpose. He knewwhat his touches were causing. Good, wholesome leader of the Avengers, famously known as the Captain, may not be as wholesome as Tony had originally thought. Not with the way each circle caused his lower half to pulse with renewed want and need. He whined when Steve’s fingers touched near his dick _just so_. Close enough to tease, but not close enough to sate him.

“Steve,” he whined, but his alpha remained firmed. He bucked his hips without thought, coming just inches from being touched but Steve pulled his hand back before skin contact was made.

“You're so beautiful,” Steve whispered on his skin. He felt the very impressive girth of Steve’s erection against the small of his back, heavy and hot and twitching. “You're always beautiful, but to have you like this - to _see_ you like this. There's no way to put it in words. You're so wonderful.”

Praised. He was being _praised_ for the very reason he had once feared would put his alpha off. For being a brazen omega with uncontrolled urges. The reason Steve now seemed to be eagerly taking part in and even encouraging.

“May I?”

 _God, yes._ “Please.”

A particularly loud moan escaped him when Steve reached down with both hands to grab the base of his dick and sneaked two fingers in his folds with the other. Out of sync and with no rhythm his alpha stroked with a rough edge and rubbed with a gentle touch. Tony had to grab hold of Steve's legs for balance when his hips rocked back and forth. His toes curled from all the sensation numbing his control over his body. His legs jerked and his nails dug into the meat of his alpha’s thighs. At some point he had thrown his head back and rested it on his alpha’s shoulder, crying shamelessly next to his ear along with the wet, slapping sound echoing the room. Face flushed red no doubt.

“You're so good to me, so beautiful. The sounds you make, wonderful. You're perfect, Sweetheart, so perfect. ”

_You're such a whore. Look at how wet you get for me. So tight. Louder. I want to hear how good I make you feel. Louder!_

“I love you.”

Tony scrunched his face and focused on the current, easily blocking out the past his mind had wandered to from the sheer intense overstimulation he was experiencing. Focusing on the current, of his new moments, pushing back the negativity because he didn't need it anymore, he was moving forward, and because… _fuck you, Hammer._

_Come you whore_

“Come for me, Sweetheart.”

With one loud moan he did just that for Steve, soaking the watered floor and his alpha’s fingers with his slick.

While in his high he was vaguely aware of his alpha's erection still pressing against his lower back and the grunting sounds Steve had done in succession before feeling a string of heat land on his skin.

They both panted heavily and from the way Tony’s heart felt, working rapidly, he was surprised it still continued to beat. More surprising was his three performances. Back when he could barely go through one without it feeling like an unwanted chore to suddenly rearing to go three times in the span of a short time? Surely there was something in the water.

Or perhaps it was all Steve.

No, it had to be the water, or whatever he was being fed. He had long passed his youth. It would eventually run out.

Didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the glow after a wonderful bout of mating, or sate the exhaustion his body seemed prone on feeling after each session. Of course he had also been looking forward to getting clean, and…

Wait.

Steve rubbing in his seed on his skin was the _opposite_ of clean. Smelling of his alpha for days was endearing and it made Tony’s heart flip in many ways, but the knowledge of _how_ a shifter places it, makes it so potent… that's another subject entirely.

“ _Steve_ , we're supposed to be bathing, not making it worse.”

That seemed to snap his alpha from the haze he was falling into. He appeared sheepish, but didn't make the effort to wipe his mess. If anything he used a well crafted distraction that consisted of putting his slicked up fingers in his mouth and licking them to hold off cleaning a while longer.

If Tony’s attention hadn't been caught by the shameless sight he would've thought long and hard about the implication of Steve making sure to mark him in more ways than just the physical. Of course this was also the moment his body gave a valiant twitch for round four and… he couldn't. For the first time he couldn't, not because it was unwanted, but because he had no energy left in him. And he was still hungry.

He whined. “No more, please. Let me eat first, then you can go as many times as you want.”

Steve's eyes softened. “No, if you're tired then we stop here. I won't push. How about sleeping tomorrow after eating?”

“Sounds great.” Four was certainly pushing it and he was thankful his alpha decided to take a break.

When they finally entered the tub of water it was everything Tony didn't know he could experience. Safe in his alpha's hold, warm, soothing water. Didn't remove or even diminished the potency of Steve's smell on him, but the waters did wonders to his old bones.

He nearly fell asleep again, but the call for food was stronger. Once his belly was full, well, who could blame him for falling asleep in his alpha's strong arms?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All righty! It's been months since last doing this but here goes! Whatcha guys and gals and non-binary pals think? Let me know, lovelies! You're the best. 
> 
> Thanks for waiting!


	26. Further Additions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, surprise, surpriseeeee.
> 
> So I actually tried finishing this chapter up for the 12th, but ultimately couldn't make it. Three days late isn't that bad, right?
> 
> Well, anyway here it is! Have some pack teasing and Clint and Sam finally taking their first steps to getting their man Rhodey.  
> And we've got new members for the pack! Hooray!

“ _Holy shit, Steve._ What did you _do_ to him?”

Just Tony’s luck that their entire pack were present, wide awake and livelier than Jarvis when he’d found an entire, untouched tree full of nuts. They were all gathered in the common room, relaxing and dressed for the day. Every available spot to sit were taken. Every available soul in the house were present. Every available word Tony did _not_ want to hear were said, and it was all thanks to one Clint Barton. Naturally.

The sun was high in the sky and the day already long started. Down the stairs Steve went with Tony safely tucked in his arms and wrapped comfortably in a clean blanket. On cue the moment one of their packmates heard the unmistakable footsteps of someone walking down the stairs and turned their head to the direction the rest were quick to follow as well and all together their eyes filled with mischief. Some of them were very impressed by the sight while others (Rhodey and Jarvis) not so much.

Tony made a noise of mortification when Bucky, Clint and Sam moved their eyebrows very suggestively and Natasha said “I take it you both had a fun time together? You disappeared on us for nearly an entire day.”

His face was red for sure, something only his packmates were capable of accomplishing without fail, much to his chagrin. He ducked his head down and tried his best to hide using Steve’s chest, patting the hard muscle in silent question to turn back up the stairs. Steve could leave him to live among the pillows and blankets for the rest of his life. Have Jarvis and Rhodey bring him food and water whenever he needed them.

There was no mercy for him. Not when Steve reached the bottom and _postured_. The whole chest out, chin up and radiating smugness with a cocky grin that young alphas were prone to do when he answered. “Something like that.”

Tony pulled the blanket over his head when every. Single. One of the Avengers made faces of approval. Then the scent must have finally reached them for those same faces soon wrinkled their noses simultaneously, including Natasha’s and Loki’s.

“Shit Steve, did you dump everything you had on him in one night? My nose is burning from over here,” Bucky said, waving his hand in front of his face as if trying to beckon whatever scent he smelled away.

“I am impressed,” Loki admitted with a nod of his head. “I did not know our captain was capable of such a feat. Surely Anthony was left without want.”

“I assume he was left without feeling of his legs as well,” Thor added with a toothy grin. “We must toast in your honor.”

“How about we hear from Tony himself before we keep praising Steve.” Jan’s tone suggested there was no alternative and left no room to protest from anyone, including himself.

He pulled the blanket down just enough to reveal his eyes and get a good view of everyone and the room. It did nothing to hide the flush for sure.

Natasha pierced them both with her green eyes. “Don’t hide the truth. Even if it means striking at his pride. This is about you and your needs.” Then bluntly with a raised eyebrow and the shadow of a smirk. “Was Steve’s performance satisfying?”

Thirteen pairs of eyes were aimed right at him. Too many of them far too interested in his answer. Five of those pairs were difficult to even look at for those five were his _children_ and his longtime _best friends_.

Having Jarvis’ and Vision’s curious and innocent eyes on him, and having Rhodey’s, Pepper’s and Happy’s protective gazes wanting to know if he had been _satisfied_ from having sex with Steve was perhaps the most terrifying moment of his life. There was no way he could’ve said the truth with them listening.

It was a wonder he had any blood left south when it all rushed to his face and neck.

Sam whistled. “Wow, I didn’t know someone could turn that shade of red.”

“They usually don’t,” Hank offered. “The rest of the body needs the blood.”

“Anthony never ceases to impress,” Thor raised an arm in cheer and multiple chuckles rang around the room. It was all stopped when Rhodey rose from the couch, standing straight with muscles tensed. All eyes turned to him.

There was no mirth, no playfulness anywhere in Rhodey’s stance. Dark, steeled eyes pierced at Steve. Tony could feel his alpha’s own muscles tighten up, something that had him worried.

“Mind if I talk to you for a moment?” The question was casual. The tone anything but. “Alone?”

Tony made a small noise when Steve placed him down on the nearest couch, prompting Clint to slide off and sit on the floor to make room. When the two alphas made their way to the front door and went through it a tension he hadn’t realized fall over them disappeared. Everyone breathed out.

“That,” Clint pointed at their exit, “was so hot.”

Surprisingly Sam didn’t whack him with a cushion. If anything he _agreed_. “I never understood what was so great about an alpha posturing, but after having that hunk of man walk into our lives and seeing it happen right now?” He gestured to Tony, Pepper and Happy to show the next part was for them. “Listen, can we have his hand in marriage?”

The three blinked. Pepper was the one to say “You… want his hand in marriage?”

“Yes.”

“You _both_ want to court him?”

“Sure do,” Clint said.

“Are you serious?” Tony blurted out. His eyes narrowing. “Do you both genuinely want a relationship, or are you just playing around?”

Suddenly their faces turned uncharacteristically careful. “Haven’t been this serious about considering someone since courting Sam,” Clint revealed.

“And I haven’t considered courting anyone since making it official with Clint,” Sam added, saying it for both. “If he’s interested we’ll do the whole show. Compliments, flowers, walks under the moonlight and anything you three suggest to win him over and show we mean it. If he isn’t we’ll leave it alone.”

For Sam to be serious was one thing, for Clint it was another story entirely. It meant they were speaking the truth. The two honestly wanted a relationship with his Rhodey and Tony realized, after living together for months and getting to know the two betas, he approved of the pair. Rhodey would compliment their personalities and balance them out and the two would give Rhodey a funny bone or ten. Maybe finally make him lighten up.

“Well,” he eventually said, “I hope you have great pick up lines. He’s kind of oblivious sometimes.”

“He takes after you then,” Natasha smirked.

“I’m not _that_ oblivious!”

They all exchanged looks. Inluciding Jarvis, Vision, Pepper and Happy. The traitors.

“Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Sam said to Clint.

“It’s going to be so worth it.”

“You want the sweets or the flowers?”

“Sweets. I work better with those than with flowers. Think he enjoys love notes?”

“No Clint. You are not going to shoot arrows with love notes at him.”

“But you loved those!”

“No, I nearly farted out my lungs the first time you did that. No love notes.”

“There goes my signature courting move.”

“It didn’t work anyway.”

“But you said -”

“I lied.”

Clint looked so heartbroken Tony almost hugged him to ease the apparent sorrow. “You monster!”

“We don’t want to scare him away.”

“If we do it your way we’ll never get anywhere.”

“At least he’ll still _be_ there.”

“Why you -”

Natasha cleared her throat very pointedly. The two betas continues to bicker, oblivious to the crowd around them. Everyone else turned their attention to her. She pulled her legs up on the couch, folding them in as she tucked herself against Bruce’s side. One could see the faintest hint of a blush on his face.

“You never gave us a proper answer,” she prompted with a true smile on. “ _Mister Rogers_.”

Tony’s mind started running. _Mister Rogers, Mister Rogers, Mister Rogers, Mister Rogers…_ He didn’t even think about that. He was officially Steve’s mate, Steve’s omega, meaning he could take up Steve’s name and he could be a Rogers.

Tony Rogers.

That was a whole lot better than Hammer, and he’d wear it proudly.

He smiled against the fabric of his blanket, hiding it from view. He was so giddy from just the thought.

Pepper tilted her head. “Tony Stark-Rogers. I like it.”

All together that giddiness disappeared in an instant.

“ _Stark?_ ” Bucky repeated with a frown and made Tony’s heart nearly stop.

He never revealed his last name, never revealed his past. Stark wasn’t just a throw away name. It was once a famous brand, and now his pack was going to realize exactly what golden goose they had in their hands. It didn’t matter if he swore to never make weapons again. If his pack wanted it they could easily force Tony to do so.

And from the way Pepper’s eyes widened he knew she realized her mistake. He hadn’t told them anything about his name and now it was going to all fall apart.

“Staaark. Tony Stark,” Janet tested her tongue on the name. Each repeat sank his heart lower. “Stark, Stark, _Stark_ … I like it. It suits you.”

He blinked.

“A mighty fine family name indeed,” Thor complimented. “Strong, unyielding, a grand title for those determined to move forward.”

“And here I was betting it was something blacksmith related, like _Smith_ ,” Bucky bemoaned, throwing his head back.

“How original,” Natasha and Bruce said dryly together. They both exchanged surprised looks.

Hank didn’t seem to agree. “To be honest Stark does sound like a blacksmith name when put into context. I’d trust my pots and pans to a man named Stark any day. I know they’ll be in safe hands.”

Clint nodded, apparently done bickering with his mate at some point. “My pots and pans will live to see another day with a Stark in the house.”

Tony pouted, far too relieved to care he was doing so. His pack didn’t know, and if they did they didn’t care. They weren’t going to force him to do anything. “I don’t just do pots and pans.”

“No, but they are the most important household item. Therefore we worry about pots and pans first.”

“I disagree. The besom is the most important element. How else are we to battle against the mire and find a means to sweep Clinton from our home?”

“Hey!”

“I heard that’s a big problem these days. Hey _Stark_? Mind looking into that?”

From where they sat Pepper and Happy sent Tony questioning looks, clearly confused about what was going on. Tony shrugged at them in a gesture of “yes, this happens a lot, try and get used to it.” The pair nodded slowly, getting comfortable for the show.

It continued for a good couple of minutes. Back and forth witty remarks and sassy comebacks were thrown. Clint the main subject for them until Thor’s name was added to the fray and soon it became a free for all. Apparently in order to scare off a Loki one just needed to have a handful of dirt. The serpent shifter would go slithering the other way in an instant. To lure a Hank into a secluded room all one needed was a questionable sample of forest matter. To chase off a Jan one only needed to wear a very unstylish outfit with holes and tears. Thor was simple. All one needed was sweets (and Loki as well).

The list went on and on until Tony’s own name was thrown in the pile. To find a Steve all one needed was a Tony.

“This is great,” Bucky had said. “Do you know how many times I’d lose that idiot when we were pups? He was teased a lot for his size back then but let me tell you, that runt could disappear like _that_ when you looked away for just a second. With you as a beacon we’ll never lose sight of him again.”

Tony glared him down, flushed face and all.

Eventually Steve and Rhodey returned from their little talk and the pack could easily note the facade Steve was putting on as he walked in. He was trying to act nonchalantly, but there was a notable color shift on his face. Pasty white compared to his usual soft pink and those fingers of his were trembling. He appeared one of two possibilities. From the very stern talking to Rhodey had given him Steve was either seething from having another alpha talk down to him, or he was trembling from the fright of it.

Sam and Clint fanned themselves and each other when Rhodey marched in with a hard stare at nothing. Rhodey was oblivious to it.

Tony made a noise when Steve plucked him up and adjusted him on his lap as he took his spot on the couch. Tony could easily feel the trembling now and it was obvious it wasn’t caused from fear. Steve was barely holding back out of sheer will. Once comfortable Steve held Tony close, burying his face in-between his neck and shoulder. The blanket slid down from the movement, revealing all in the room the dark bruises decorating his neck.

Someone muttered a “well damn, Steve,” but they were ignored. Tony focused on his alpha’s hard breathing. Holding himself together just so. Not wanting to risk anything he simply tucked himself against Steve’s own neck and shoulder and relaxed with the warm contact his alpha gave him.

He had no idea what Rhodey had threatened the alpha with, but whatever it had been it must have hit close to home for Steve. Tony had never seen such fury like this. Silent and boiling. Not even when Steve saved him from those rogue shifters.

Awkwardly, for Tony had never done so in years now, he released a short whine, carrying with a silent question. It was the highest of whines, hitting a whistle note, but Steve heard it loud and clear.

Steve returned a whine of his own. Equally high and silent and carrying a response. _I'm fine._

Tony wanted to pry, but he trusted his alpha and he trusted Rhodey. So he left it alone.

Instead he enjoyed the embrace of his alpha and listened contently to the banter that continued around him. Now more than ever when the voices of his oldest friends were also joining in without the tension they carried beforehand. And now with Steve calm and _not_ trying to stake a claim Rhodey, Pepper and Happy were slowly getting to know the Avengers.

He was so happy. His Brucie wasn't rubbing his hands together nervously like he had done so when they first joined the pack and he and Natasha were getting closer and closer as the days went by. Jarvis and Vision never had a dull moment anymore. Jarvis having more than one shoulder to rest on and steal food and Vision having an abundance of playmates to entertain him. His honey bear was back in his life again and catching the eyes of two very interested betas who appeared determined to get his attention, even if he remained oblivious to their somewhat questionable advances.

Tony had to hold back laughing so hard when Sam's and Clint’s extravagant attempts of the hour failed spectacularly when Rhodey completely missed the point.

The he cried in outrage when Natasha would say, “just like you.”

Then cry even louder when Bruce - _his_ Brucie, who he had shared a shack with, whom he had gone through thick and thin in a timeframe of a couple of months side by side, who he entrusted to watch over his two children - _agreed_ with her.

“I’m not _that_ bad!”

“Tony, the _entire_ pack knew. Jarvis and Vision knew. Steve literally had numerous betas and omegas try to get his attention when they first met us and he _rejected_ every single one of them for you, and you still thought _‘nooo, he can’t possibly be interested in me.’_ If that’s not oblivious I don’t know _what_ is.”

“That hurts me, Brucie. It hurts me right here.”

Granted they were probably right, and Bruce had a fair point, but still. He'd rather not have it pointed out.

Pepper and Happy? He'd never seen the two so open with each other. In their business packs they would always keep a careful distance, even when working under Tony’s father. Happy as one of the pack's beta guards couldn't afford to be playing favorites. His part in the pack was to protect the _pack_ , not just an individual. No matter how much his instincts fought to do so.

That remained true even when the Stark pack disbanded and they were forced to find a new business pack. But now, under Rhodey’s command, they looked so carefree compared to the past. Open hand holding, a kiss on the cheek here and there, an exchange of loving smiles. The most affection Tony had ever seen in one week than the years he had known them.

They all looked so healthy and most importantly happy. So of course it naturally had nearly been ruined.

Tony had been so dazed by his friends’ happiness he never thought to remember of the little issue with Rhodey, Pepper and Happy _not_ being part of the Avengers pack. They were visitor after all and their visitation had come to an end after nearly reaching a week stay.

The sight of Rhodey with a traveling bag by his feet in the common room was a shock. Even more so when Pepper and Happy joined him with their own. Tony was left dumbfounded when Rhodey had said it was time for them to hit the road. Jarvis and Vision resting by his own feet were no better. They made noises of sorrow.

Tony had foolishly believed his three friends were there to stay with him. Sam and Clint were trying to court his Honey Bear after all. He was nearly brought to tears when he remembered Steve never offered a permanent stay. To be a part of the pack.

The Avengers had already done so much for him. He had no right to ask of more. So with a heavy heart he put on a smile for them.

“That eager to leave me already?” he tried joking.

Rhodey didn’t even bother to play along. This was hurting him as much as Tony. “You know I’m not. It kills me to leave you again.”

“All of us,” Pepper included.

“If we could we’d stay in a heartbeat, but this isn’t our place and our pack still needs to grow if we want to make it out there. We’ve overstayed our welcome.”

Rhodey moved in and engulfed Tony in a big hug. “I traveled a long way to find you and I’d do it again. Knowing you’re in safe hands is good enough for me, but I swear if I ever hear a rumor about the great _Captain_ hurting you I’m going to hunt him down and chop off his pride.”

Tony snickered into the fabric of Rhodey’s coat.

“I only wish I could’ve done that to Hammer. That waste of fur deserves that and more.”

Tony pulled back. There was regret and guilt swirling in those dark eyes of his best friend, but Tony didn’t blame him. “You couldn’t have done anything. You were leaving for your military pack and Obie was busy selling me to the highest bidder. I couldn’t go with you no matter how much I wanted to, and as time went on in the end I just couldn’t go.”

“But you _did_ . In the end you _did_ leave and now look at you. I have never seen you glow so much, Tones. Not this strong and not for this long, and after everything you’ve been through you _deserve_ it.”

Hammer had once had him in his grip. Hammer and Obie did. Leaving almost seemed impossible back then and the idea of staying packless and dying out wild and feral had terrified him to the bone. Fear had clutched at his very being, but betrayal had finally released it. Obie using his gauntlet against what he believed was perhaps the best thing that could’ve happened to him. It gave him the push, the desperation to leave and led him to finding the Avengers and finding Steve and brought Rhodey back to him.

That betrayal gave him a second chance, and he was going to make every second count.

He pulled Rhodey in for another hug. “Promise you’ll settle down somewhere close. I want to visit my Honey Bear every chance I get. Make a note of that, Jarvis. Remind me every day.”

“Of course, Sir.”  

“Promise,” Rhodey said. “If not I’ll find you instead.”

“You too Pepper. Happy.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t count us out yet, Boss.”

“Not your boss anymore, Hap.”

“You’ll always be Boss, Boss.”

“Forget it, Tones. This is a fight you’re not going to win,” Rhodey grinned.  

“I could try.”

“We’ll be here all day.”

“All the more reason to try.”

“Tones…”

He sighed. “I know. I just got you all back. I don’t want to let go so soon.”

“Neither do we.”

“Who don’t we want to let go so soon?” All of them nearly jumped and turned their heads when Bucky’s voice rang in the room. They had been alone (a miracle in itself) while bidding goodbye but like water rushing in the Avengers trickled in the room one by one until everyone soul in the house was present.

“What’s with the bags?” Sam asked when he noticed the luggage.

Rhodey gestured at Pepper and Happy. “Figured it was time for us to go. We came looking for Tony and now that we know he’s safe we can rest easy tonight on the road. We’ll get out of your fur.”

“You’re leaving?” Clint asked in incredulity. The two betas who were in the middle of courting Rhodey now had frowns of heartbreak.

Rhodey nodded slowly, as if talking to a child. “This isn’t our home, or our pack. Kind of guessed you didn’t want us here for too long.”

“But I thought -”

Everyone in the room turned to look at their leader. For his part Steve managed to hold himself tall with confidence until eventually the stares wore him down and he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “I didn’t get around to asking them yet.”

“We talked about this _days_ ago. What have you been doing?” Bucky said.

That bashfulness was quickly replaced by smugness. Steve wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulder and pulled him close. “Tony,” was all he said.

Everyone groaned, Rhodey growled and Tony’s face turned an instant red. At least he had the conversation topic to distract him with. Hope had steadily grown as he heard his pack leaders talk. If they were talking about what he thought they were talking then maybe he didn’t have to say goodbye to his friends after all. If that were the case then Steve deserved every second of his posturing and Tony would happily allow it. A small price to pay for keeping his best friends close.

Without even waiting for a confirmation Tony grabbed hold of Steve’s face and pulled him in for a fierce kiss, pouring all his emotions into it. He was thankful, grateful, for everything and he didn’t know how to even _begin_ making it up to the alpha.

The interested whine from Steve seemed like a good start.

The shriek from Jarvis? Not so much.

While Steve left lingering kisses and marks on his neck Bucky was busy actually inviting Rhodey, Pepper and Happy. “We talked about it and we agreed the three of you would make great additions to the pack. What do you say? You’ll have to put up with _that_ -” he pointed at Steve and Tony’s heated scene and Jarvis flapping his wings in protest “- as your leader, but I think it’s a small sacrifice.”

Rhodey was still glaring and made the barest of growling noises but ultimately he was thinking it through. “What do you say?” he asked Pepper and Happy.

“I’m not exactly a fighter, though,” Pepper admitted. “I’ve never handled a weapon.”

“Neither did Hank and I but we got the hang of fighting,” Jan offered. “You just have to find your style. We’ll help you.”

“I don’t really see any of you needing a beta guard,” Happy gave everyone a glance to emphasize his point. “You can each probably take me down.”

“Obviously,” Loki muttered and was ignored.

“Maybe I can guard the den while you’re out?”

“I can as well,” Pepper included.

Bucky nodded. “That works. Watch over our territory while we’re away. Strength in numbers, but before that maybe it’s best we spar together for a bit. Give you some tips.”

They agreed.

“And you?” Bucky said to Rhodey.

“I think I prefer traveling with the pack. I can hold my own. Maybe not to any of your extent, but extra hands can’t hurt.”

“We can always get those bones of yours stronger.”

“How about I keep my bones intact?”

“Oh we’re going to have a lot of fun. Final answer?”

“As if we’re going to leave Tony.”

“We’re already getting along. Great! So let’s unpack those bags of yours and give you permanent rooms.”

Before any of them made a move Clint and Sam stepped closer to Rhodey and flanked him. Determined faces on and ready for any challenge. “Listen, for the past few days we’ve been trying to be subtle, but that’s clearly not enough,” Clint said.

“We’ve been trying to hint on it, but obviously it’s not working,” Sam continued.

“So we’re just going to be straight. We want you.”

“We want you on our bed.”

“We want your body.”

“We want to spend lazy mornings together.”

“We want your pups.”

Rhodey made a choking noise.

“We want to court you.”

“Can we?”

“Be our mate?”

Rhodey was left with his mouth open and eyes wide. Eyebrows steadily going higher and higher with each statement until they nearly reached his hairline. He searched the room for help but found none as all the Avengers were either snickering to themselves, were covering their faces in second hand embarrassment or were groaning at the pair.

Looking to Tony was useless as Steve now had him pinned on one of the couches and was slowly undoing his pants. Jarvis was squawking out undignified noises as he tried to cover Vision’s eyes with his feathers. Tony didn't even spare them a glance. Rhodey made a mental note to hurt the alpha later.

Dumbfounded, Rhodey nodded slowly. “Yes?”

They both lifted their arms up in victory.

“We got him!”

“This alpha is ours.”

A squeak echoed in the room followed by a satisfied growl.

“Steve not on the couch, damn it!”

“Sir!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know your innermost thoughts. <3
> 
>  
> 
> Also, responding to comments is taking me some time, so bear with me, yeah? I'll get to them!


	27. We're Avengers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Some porn in the beginning and finally leading up to some action for the next chapter.  
> Maybe.  
> We'll see.  
> Might end up just being some angst.  
> Get ready!

Tony moaned as he leaned against his anvil with the forge bright and burning with a strong fire by the side. His tools were left forgotten, thrown about when he was caught unawares. The anvil was cool against his chest and slowly heated up from his body temperature the longer he rested on it. His hands failed to properly grasp the edges of the anvil and he was left to clench at nothing. The anvil supporting him when his legs could not.

Beads of sweat trailed down his back and sides. Not all of them caused by the fire. His body nearly rivaled the heat surrounding him on its own and when a particularly hard nip pinched his skin that heat only increased tenfold. He gasped when his skin was pinched again.

Steve had him bent over his own anvil in the very same shop he had gifted him. His pants were down his knees, legs spread out with Steve in-between them with his tongue shoved in his folds. A roof over their heads, walls on every side and a makeshift window acting as the smoke ventilator were their only cover from curious eyes. The prospect of getting caught by anyone with the misfortune of time did nothing to slow Steve.

Tony had been hard at work with his forge, enjoying the sound of steel against steel and the fire roaring in the background. His body sore in the most glorious of ways. Muscles overworked from so much time spent striking and lifting (and other times in more ways than just handling steel). The discomfort in itself was enough to distract him from the trial he seemed to carry often. His body warm with arousal. Scent heavy with need. Ever since the first time he spent together with Steve his body craved that same intimacy almost daily. Enough times to tire out even the youngest and fittest shifter around, but not Steve.

His alpha was a savior in more ways than one, and if anything he was as insatiable as his own body. Whenever it began acting up Steve was there in an instant, ready to take on his ‘duty’ and sate that need. This time was no different.

His body had been craving that intimacy in the middle of his work, but the heat from the fire and his soreness prevented him from noticing. It wasn’t until the smell of his alpha hit him through the ash and the feel of a hand over his belly that he realized he was aroused. That hand went further south while the other one was placed on his chest and he moaned when it expertly rubbed both places.

Steve had made quick work gently bending him over his anvil and pulling down his pants. He half expected his alpha to just rut, but over time he realized Steve absolutely loved having his mouth on him. To kiss, to lick, to suck and to bite. There was an oral fixation and Tony had no room to complain about it, not when Steve began licking the little slick mixed with his sweat and the ash that had clung to his skin and put his lips on every intimate spot between his legs.

This was how he found himself bent over his anvil with Steve giving him a bath. The heat grew in his body, rivaling the heat given by the fire. He didn’t put much thought on his beloved tools that he knew he was going to fret over the moment his mind cleared. His only focus was on the sensations, the pleasure, his alpha and that skillful tongue that never seemed to stop.

“S-Steve, Steve - please - _oh_ ,” he managed between pants.

He felt more than heard Steve’s satisfying growl vibrating down his nerves. Another nip, another lick and a finger barely caressing the skin and he was sent over the edge. His body moved as if made of gelatin, the anvil holding him entirely, Steve continued his attentions, licking him clean. He knew he didn’t need to worry about the mess.

When feeling returned to his body Steve had finally pulled away, but not before giving one last kiss on his inner thigh. His alpha yanked his pants back up for him and gave his rear a tender, loving pat.

Tony groaned when Steve heaved his upper body up. The question of “what about you?” forming on his lips but never getting out as Steve turned him and the answer became evident. Steve had on dark pants and nothing to obscure the obvious wet spot over his groin. The alpha had been aroused as well but found completion on his own with little help. Tony had to hold back feeling disappointed from losing his chance to return the favor and doing his part as Steve’s mate.

“You didn’t let me…” he trailed off with a look to the spot, letting Steve know what he meant. He took notice of Steve not-so-discreetly wiping his left hand on his dark pants. So that was why.

“I didn’t need much,” Steve admitted with a sheepish grin. “Taking you like that and tasting you… well.”

Tony couldn’t tell if the red on Steve’s cheeks were from embarrassment or the fire.

“Did you… enjoy it?”

“What? Of course I did, Tony. Why wouldn’t I?” The sheepishness was replaced with a frown.

Tony felt his shoulders hunch ever so slightly. “I didn’t do anything for you.”

“ _You_ ,” Steve stretched out the word and bopped him on his nose, “are enough for me, sweetheart. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’ve been intimate more times than the average shifter, and I may be young but even I can’t do the impossible in the span of a day. You bring that out of me.”

He didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad.

“Trust me, you’re enough. All I want. If I try anymore I’ll get a heart attack.”

“I’m… not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

“It’s meant to be a compliment?” Steve didn’t look sure himself. “Don’t tell the others, especially Rhodey. I want to live with you a lot longer.”

Tony ducked his head bashfully. “Rhodey wouldn’t kill you.”

“You obviously don’t know what best friends are capable of.”

“Well…”

“Trust me, he will kill me in cold blood, in front of the others. They will all smile and hold no regrets for it.”

“Our pack wouldn’t allow it.”

“Hun, our pack will _hold me down_ as he does it.”

“Don’t exaggerate.”

“Fine. When you become a _widow_ , Mister Stark-Rogers, you will realize how wrong you are. You'll have to fight Natasha for the title.”

“She'll snap me in half if I even try.”

“Probably,” Steve said bluntly. Not even bothering to sugarcoat it. “At least it'll be quick and painless?”

“That's not reassuring, Steve,” Tony said dryly, earning himself a grin for it and a quick kiss on his forehead.

“Then let's not let Rhodey know so we don't get to that point. How about that?”

“You drive a hard bargain.”

“You think this is hard? You haven’t seen hard yet -”

“ _Nooo,_ don’t finish that!”

Both Tony and Steve whipped their heads to the door of the room so fast they heard their necks crack simultaneously. Clint stood just outside of it, appearing sweaty with his loose shirt and pants sticking to his body. His hands covering his nose and mouth and his eyes shut tight. “ _Please_ tell me you’re both done and wearing clothes. What I’m smelling is not creating a decent picture.”

“Clint,” Steve hissed as he instinctively turned Tony when he felt Tony press himself against his chest in a belated attempt to hide. Tony himself felt mortification when he eventually realized Clint was smelling the aftermath of their coupling, the aftermath that came directly from _him_ and probably overpowered Steve’s own stench. He whined at the humiliation.

“Bury me,” he mumbled against the fabric of Steve’s shirt.

“We’re not going to bury you, Tony,” Steve’s chest rose and sunk in quick succession from the alpha’s silent laughter.

“If we buried someone after catching them doing the do we would’ve turned over all the dirt in our territory a long time ago,” Clint said. His eyes were open now but his hand still covered his nose “Trust me, this isn’t the worst I’ve run into. I caught Thor with his pants down and let me tell you _no one_ will walk away after a night with him.”

Against his will Tony imagined how that would look and felt genuine fear at the - probably exaggerated, but what if it were true? - size and became distressed for Thor’s mate.

Steve looked down at Tony. “Don’t listen to Clint. He’s saying things.”

“Do you call me a liar, Steven?” In Clint’s attempt at imitating an insulted individual he made the mistake of removing his hand and letting his nose take in clear, heated pheromones. He scrunched his face but didn’t cover his nose again. “Dammit, I do _not_ need an erection in the middle of training,” but it was too late. Tony hadn’t even realized his eyes wondered down after hearing the mention of it but lo and behold there was the bulge. Then he reeled back in shame at staring at someone’s intimate parts that wasn’t his mate. An apology was ready on his lips, ready to plea he hadn’t meant it to Steve, but Steve cut him off when he used his hand to cover Tony’s eyes. Fear clutched at his heart. Had this finally pushed Steve to the edge?

“Stop trying to steal my Tony, you jackal. Get your mate to take care of it. In fact, maybe this will get Rhodey going.”

“Thanks a lot.” The last part was said in a tone so dry Tony wondered if a wasteland was coming their way over the horizon.

Clint turned to leave and there was a very notable stagger in his steps, but Tony didn’t pay much attention to it, not when his focus was running on whether Steve was mad at him or not.

“What’s wrong?” Steve said the moment he noticed Tony’s attitude change. “Was it Clint? Did he make you uncomfortable? I’ll talk to him if he did.”

“No, I’m - are you mad?”

An eyebrow rose high. “What for?”

“I… I -” his tongue felt heavy. “I stared at him.”

Steve nodded slowly. “I did, too. That entire time, in fact. Kind of rude not to stare at the person when you talk to them.”

“No. I meant I _stared_ at him, at his - uh,” Tony waved low.

“Dick?” Steve supplied. “Penis? Erection? Meat? Sam’s favorite pastime and hopefully Rhodey’s, too?”  

“ _Steve,_ ” Tony shrieked as his alpha, the death of him he kept finding out, just grinned.

“Sweetheart if we all got mad for staring at each other’s privates we would’ve killed each other a long time ago. I can’t tell you how many times I caught them looking at me and I lost count of how many times they looked at _you_ a long time ago. Don’t even get me started on Thor.”

Tony frowned and thought about it. Now that Steve had mentioned it… on more than one occasion he had caught everyone appreciate how tight Thor’s pants looked on him. He had assumed it was to admire his thighs… but it was always from the front.

On second thought, maybe now wasn't the best time to think about that. Not with Steve right in front of him and having just recently… yeah.

“So you’re not mad?” He asked again because he just had to make _sure_. An internal fear for certain.

Steve’s eyes softened. “Never, not for this. Now if physical contact were to start happening I might have a few choice words to say. I can’t stop them from appreciating, but they know better than to touch the art.”

Tony groaned, hiding his face again. “ _Steve._ ” Damn his cheesy alpha and the romantic side he had going.

“I should go back out there and see how they’re doing,” Steve said eventually. “If they’re even still out there. How long were we here for?”

“Long enough for Clint to come searching for you.”

“They probably thought I was somewhere in a ditch or something. Walk with me?”

Tony glance at the fire in his forge. Weak and minutes away from just becoming ash. Not a large loss and it wasn’t as if he was working on anything big or important at the moment. He nodded and leaned against Steve’s side when his alpha wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

They walked out his little work station and made their way around the mansion where a large open field, dubbed as the Avenger’s training field, was present. A safe distance away from Natasha’s - and now Bruce’s - garden and their den. In the center of the space he spotted Rhodey, Pepper and Happy kneeling and sitting on the ground, sweaty and panting. The rest of their pack were sprawled around the area. Some standing near them while others were leaning back against trees and enjoying the show. Loki, Hank, Bruce and Sam were among the latter. The four enjoying the show immensely and sending appreciative glances at them all.

Jarvis and Vision were safely tucked next to each other under the shade of a tree not that far from Bruce. The cockatoo bowed his head once and the little machine spun in place in acknowledgement upon seeing Tony and catching his eyes. Mischief was clear in their stances.

Tony and Steve were not paid any mind when they reached their pack. Although Clint sent them a glare for extra measures, reminding them of his predicament. Sam didn’t look as if he had plans to help him, but he was certainly enjoying the sight of him and Rhodey with their shirts sticking to their bodies, hiding nothing.

“So you’re the reason why Clint came back to us ready to hump the nearest tree,” Natasha said offhandedly from her spot squatting near Pepper. Her nose twitched in an obvious manner, and considering this was Natasha it was evident she wanted everyone to know what she meant by it.

Without missing a beat Steve lifted his chin. “He shouldn’t have gone and poked his nose then.”

“And to think we were worried about you. Tony having offed you and used you for his forge or thrown you down the river or tied you to your bed.”

“I can safely say which one I’d rather be taken out with.”

“Careful,” Rhodey growled, though good naturedly, and pointed at Steve. “You may be his mate and my pack leader but don’t think for one second I won’t hesitate to neuter you.”

No one moved to defend their pack alpha. Steve raised an eyebrow and looked to Tony. “Told you. Not even Bucky will stop him.”

Bucky snorted. “After everything you put me through? Hell, I'll _hold_ you down for him.”

“Thanks, Buck. I knew you loved me.”

“Someone's gotta keep your ego in check. Even if it means chopping off the base.”

Everyone winced at that except for Bucky, hands not so subtly moving to their crotches. Tony was covering his own even as he said “Please don't. I happen to like his… uh, his -” Crap, maybe he hadn't thought that through. Everyone was now looking at him in surprise and he couldn't stop his cheeks from coloring even if he tried.

He jumped when Loki appeared within sight. Having crossed a couple of feet within seconds and no sounds to show it. He was just as shocked as everyone else. “Am I losing hearing in my ears or has Anthony just stated what I believe he has stated?”

“Nay, Loki. We have all heard what you disbelieve,” Thor said for them all and then grin. One of the widest ones Tony had ever seen. “He has taken pride in the pleasures of the flesh!”

“I guess Steve is good for something after all,” Jan said with a small nod. “Don't worry, Tony. We'll leave him alone just for you.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, just as dry as Clint had done.

“Can we stop talking about my best friend and sex in the same sentence? There are things I'm perfectly fine with not knowing,” Rhodey groaned and covered his face.

Bucky patted his shoulder, but there was no sympathy in the gesture. “Hate to break it to you, but you're with the Avengers now. Any decency is tossed out the door.”

Tony had never felt so mortified. Scratch that. He had and he still wasn’t used to it. “Can we _please_ talk about something else? _Anything_ at all is fine with me.”

“Well the only other thing to talk about is the pack contract. Which is work. I'd rather talk about this.” His damn second in command shrugged with that same lack of sympathy. Then his words finally caught up with Tony and he had to stop everything for a second as it sunk in.

Pack contract? What pack contract? He didn’t recall a contract or ever heard about a recent contract that involved the entire pack. Considering he was part of said pack he should have heard about it… but hadn’t… and he didn’t like that.

Whatever was said after was lost to him. His mind raced at the lack of knowledge he seemed to have. Was it a recent deal? Perhaps, but that didn’t explain why nobody reacted to the news at all. Not even Bruce. Was this old information? Why hadn’t he been told beforehand? Surely they would have thought to inform him about a future pack travel through the land. Had they simply forgotten? But Rhodey, Pepper and Happy were told and they had only recently joined. So just him? Why just him?

It hurt thinking about it.

He returned to the conversation on hand just in time to hear Pepper say “-training us to guard the den, then?”

Steve nodded. “That and yourselves. Our den isn’t widely known, but that doesn’t mean rivals or enemies couldn’t come upon it by accident. Without the entire pack present they could see an opportunity and that’s not something I’ll let happen without a fight. Dens can be replaced. Packmates can not. I’ll feel better on the road knowing you have means to fight and run.”

“We’ve been working on your stamina with these drills,” Natasha revealed. “Easier to escape if you have the endurance to run for hours. On your own you’re not ready to try and fight back, but with these techniques you’ll have just enough for self-defence until you find an opening to escape.”

Rhodey, Pepper and Happy frowned. “You don’t even want us to defend the den?” There was an accusing tone in Rhodey’s question. Not understanding why they were staying at all if that were the case. The alpha in him not wanting to be left behind most likely. Being new to the pack and not having accepted Steve as his pack leader yet was probably causing his instincts to challenge the younger alpha’s command, no matter the logic behind it. Tony was worried a fight would occur and was ready to jump in and soothe the situation as much as he could.

Steve stood his ground, but didn’t call Rhodey out on his behavior. Surprisingly he was being patient. Something not usually seen in young shifters as they tended to always lash out and prove why they were pack leaders. “We are one of the strongest war packs out there and our enemies are aware of this. They know small numbers are not going to help against us. If they attack you can bet they’re going to outnumber us. If they decide to attack our den with only half of the pack present they’re going to overwhelm you. Don’t be heroes,” he growled the last part, making everyone straighten up, including Rhodey. “Run when you get the chance.”

The silence that followed showed just how disciplined the pack truly was, something Tony had yet to see until on that moment. He had gotten so used to the pack’s silly banter and his packmates’ personalities and the good-natured comebacks that he never bothered to stop and think exactly how the dynamics of the pack worked outside the den. They may be playful, they may share more than necessary sometimes and help each other where they could, but they were still a war pack, and war required controlled behavior, orders and a good leader to gain victory.

Their pack might tease Steve, might taunt him, might pull his tail occasionally, but in the end they respected their Captain and trusted him to lead them home. It showed when every single one of them listened intently. It showed when Thor, who was an alpha leader in his own right, lowered his eyes in esteem. When Loki kept quiet. When Bucky nodded. When Natasha, Sam and Clint bowed their heads ever so slightly. When Jan, Hank and Bruce remained focused on his every words. When Rhodey, Pepper and Happy showed understanding in their eyes.

When Tony had the sudden urge to present in front of his alpha. To bare his neck in submission.

This was the other side of Steve he had yet to see, and now that he was he realized just how lucky he truly was. This man could have easily been a tyrant, could have showed off his strength in the most violent of ways, and still earn the same respect as now, but instead he was gentle, sweet, caring and took a great deal in protecting his pack.

Which was why just the thought of Steve and their pack leaving for days left such a hollow feeling in his chest. To be so far away from him and them… he didn’t want to be left behind. He didn’t want to be alone. Away from the security of his family and remaining oblivious to their status. To be worried and wondering if they were coming back with injuries or not coming back at all.

It was ridiculous. They were the Avengers after all. They had been doing this long before Tony even joined, but now that he had gotten to know them… he knew it only took an enemy with a lucky shot to take one of them out. He couldn’t stand the thought of staying behind and not being able to do anything about it.

Even with his old pack he was never separated from them, no matter how much he hated traveling with them and always lived in constant fear of the next trip.

But how to bring the issue up? As an omega he knew his pack’s first instinct was to keep him away from the fight. Logically that was in the den where he could be safely tucked inside its walls. Tony could throw facts their way on why he should tag along, but he got the feeling sense wasn’t going to help him. At least not alone.

Then he just so happened to hear the comment, “Hydra packs are involved, Steve. Not one pack. _Packs_ . As in plural. We have to be careful with this one or _we’ll_ be the ones overwhelmed,” from Bucky and it did _not help at all_.

“What’s gotten into you? I can practically smell you pacing from down the hall,” Rhodey had said the day before their pack had planned to head out for their contract. He caught Tony doing exactly what he had stated. Tony was pacing inside his and Steve’s room (their room… something he struggled to believe sometimes) while Steve and the others who were to join in the trip were planning their tactic downstairs.

There was no point denying the pacing so he didn’t bother to try. “I can’t -” he started but was unable to form what he was so anxious about in words. The only thing he could come up that was close enough was “I don’t want to be left behind, Rhodey.”

Rhodey didn’t mock him, didn’t frown. He simply got closer and reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. “They’re coming back, Tones. This is their den after all.”

“But what if they don’t? What if something happens to one of them? I can’t sit idly by and do nothing. I can help.”

“I know you can. More than anyone I know you can, Tones, but they want us here. You’re our leader’s mate. They won’t allow it.”

“But I can!” he repeated. “I can do something, or I can remain hiding among the trees. I don’t care. I don’t mind it. I just don’t want to be left behind, Rhodey. I can’t stand not knowing.”

Rhodey pulled him close for a hug. “That mind of yours always wants to know everything, huh?”

“I don’t want anyone hurt.”

“That comes with war territory. You can’t prevent that.”

Tony sighed and gripped his best friend’s shirt. “Tell them something… please.” The words of an alpha were stronger than an omega.

Rhodey hummed in response and just continued to hold him. For a moment Tony believed he wasn’t going to do anything, allowing the alpha in him to bow to his instincts and keep any and all omegas safe. Something that Tony never had to worry about before with Rhodey, but time apart caused changes.

He was ready to accept going for days without any knowledge of his packmates when Rhodey suddenly pulled back. His eyes shined with determination. “A little moral support never hurt anyone. Come on. Just the thought of standing idly by and doing nothing is getting my fur all mangled.”

Tony followed him with hope in his steps. If there was even the slightest chance of joining the trip Rhodey was the best choice to make it happen. It was still one opinion against nine others, however. If the chance were to even make it on the table Rhodey had to choose his words carefully.

He had followed after Rhodey with confidence down the stairs but as they got closer to the bottom and the first set of packmates came into view that confidence disappeared. The traitor. What would their packmates say? How would they react to the idea of bringing the rest along? To be precise, the two omegas along? What did they believe of them? Were they truly just meant to be den omegas and nothing else?

Tony didn’t think he was ready to hear what his pack truly thought of him.

The conversation was loud from up the stairs but hushed down to a whisper until it slowly stopped completely when Rhodey and Tony reached the meeting spot. Everyone turned to look at them. Eyes full of questions at their presence. Tony shrunk down at their gazes. Thankfully Rhodey didn’t seem bothered at all.

Tony wished he had that courage.

Steve was the first to speak, looking concerned. “Something wrong?”

“Yes,” Rhodey nodded with a serious tone in his voice. The response caused all the others to shift in place, waiting for the issue to be named. Rhodey took a deep breath. “We are members of the pack, correct?” he gestured to himself and Tony.

Everyone frowned, including Tony. “Yes,” Steve said with a confused shake. “Why would you even ask? Of course you are.”

“So it’s not wrong to assume we are part of the pack, of the Avengers pack? This war pack is our own. Meaning we have equal rights to those gathered here, no matter how low in the dynamic. Meaning,” he said with emphasis, “we have every right to be included in this meeting and included in this contract as everyone else here.”

It soon dawned on Tony what Rhodey was attempting to do. Being part of the pack meant joining them no matter the dangers. Rhodey was making them remember that in order to gain the upper hand, and he wasn’t the only one to figure out the tactic. Realization hit many of them. Most importantly it hit Steve.

“We ask,” he continued, “to travel with you.” He may have been an alpha, but he was still only part of the squabble in the pack. To demand would mean hurting their cause. To ask would mean showing respect. Rhodey went with the smart choice.

But even so the smart choice didn’t guarantee the wanted results. Steve was quick to answer, “No,” and Tony deflated.

Rhodey opened his mouth to say more but Steve was quicker. “I will not allow it and that’s final.”

What Steve was going to realize soon enough was that Rhodey was just as stubborn as the younger alpha. If not more. Age tended to do that. “Will you continue to say that even knowing your refusal will cause the bond forming between old and new to weaken? Strength grows when traveling together. You know this. You _all_ know this.”

“We will have many opportunities to travel together, but this one will not be it. Do you understand?”

“No, I do not. Separating the pack doesn’t guarantee safety. What if we _were_ attacked and overwhelmed? Do you really think we’ll escape unfazed? Five shifters against full packs, and you’ll never know about it until you come home.”

“I know the risks,” Steve nearly barks, “but I’d rather risk a possibility than a guarantee.”

“That’s _our_ call.”

“No it’s not, it’s _mine_. As leader I will not purposely put my mate in danger, even if it means leaving him in our den -”

“I don’t want to be left behind!” Tony snapped. Eyes tightly shut as his throat burned from the sudden outburst, but damn it all he couldn’t let it go on without having a word in it. He didn’t want to get left behind. Chucked away like a dirty secret or abandoned. He wanted to stay near them all. He wanted to be useful, even if it meant as moral support. He could… he could _do_ something at least. Just don’t leave him behind.

“Please,” he tried again softer. “Please don’t leave me behind.”

“Tony…” he heard Steve say but he knew the arms wrapping around him belonged to his best friend. He buried his face in the fabric of his shirt. The smell that belonged purely of Rhodey soothing in its own way.

“Cap,” Sam said from somewhere in their gathering. It was the only sound exchanged for silence soon followed, but Tony knew his pack was doing the silent communication they were prone to do.

“I can’t…” Steve eventually said through the silence. Voice fragile, shaky. “I can’t. Not this. What if -”

“But what if not?” Bucky countered. “We get it, Steve. Really we do. The last thing we want is to watch any of our loved ones get hurt, but we also know the other side, including you. _Especially_ you.”

More silence.

“Steve…” this time Jan had said it. “He’s told us what he wants.”

Tony held his breath but Steve continued to hesitate.

“We’ll be careful,” Clint offered. “Travel the lands but avoid the fight. We did it with Jan and Hank.”

Footsteps echoed as someone walked closer. Rhodey pulled away from him but in exchange Steve took his place. Tony dared look up, watching his alpha’s expression carefully. The fear, the worry, it was clear Steve didn’t want him along, but Tony didn’t want his pack to leave without him.

“Please listen and do everything I say,” Steve finally decided on, “and stay close. _Please_.”

With no words to say Tony just nodded, but he embraced the hug Steve offered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had hoped to finish this before this morning for thanksgiving but alas, not meant to be. Still, happy turkey day!  
> Hope you enjoyed.  
> Cheers!


	28. Together or Not At All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooo, this took forever, but I got it done. 
> 
> Small angst in the beginning, hope in the middle, more angst in the end.
> 
> Also, plot building!!

In a surprising turn of events (though maybe not that surprising all things considering), shortly after Steve finally agreed to include Tony and Rhodey in the contract with the promise the two would listen to every order he said, from up the stairs Bruce appeared along with Pepper and Happy. The omega determined to say something while the two betas gazed curiously at the whole scene.

“If he's going then I am too,” was all the omega said. His hands clasped together and one of his thumbs rubbing over the surface of the other being the only sign of hesitation. That hesitation Tony was sure had everyone in the room focused on it. He was ready to hear their leader say ‘absolutely not’ to him, to order him put and prevent the sense of obligation the omega obviously felt lead him to contribute to a situation he was clearly uncomfortable doing, but then Natasha walked forward and the entire pack stopped, holding their breath.

“Do you want this?” she said with a careful tone. There was more to the question, hidden from those unaware.

Bruce lowered his eyes, staring intently at his hands. He had them still with tension. A silent argument occuring in his head. Then with purpose those hands separated, his shoulders straightened and his head was head high, higher than ever before seen on the omega.

“I do. If you allow me.”

Natasha nodded, indifference expressed but the slight crease on her brows told another story. Before anything she turned to their leader, showing respect. “Do you permit it?”

Steve appeared as if he had recently sucked on a lemon. “We are to fight Hydra packs. We cannot risk more than we already have. Too much caution will end up our downfall.”

“He will not be a burden,” she countered. Many were skeptical, but she remained firm. “Trust me. If we end up biting more than we can chew we’ll be glad to have him along.”

Tony wondered for a moment if Bruce had finally revealed his secret to Natasha. This had sounded far too close to the big guy’s circumstances for it to be pure coincidence. He did recall Bruce telling him he’d reveal it to her soon, he just didn’t think it had already happened. Both their demeanor hadn’t changed and Bruce never mentioned anything afterwards.

Fear made itself known in his gut. Bruce had already revealed his secret to his mate and she accepted him. Tony was the only one that remained to pour his bleeding heart out, and sweet words of promise or not, his secret was worth changing one’s mind over. What would Steve say? What would his reaction be? Would he still hold Tony in his arms, knowing everything Tony had to offer was already there? Would he take in another mate to bear his pups, making up for what Tony couldn’t give him?

It hurt just thinking about it.

Steve was going to chuck him to the side and never hold him the same way again. He was sure of it. Maybe with luck he’d remain with the pack but it’d never be the same between them. He wouldn’t be able to bare living so close to Steve and have him so far away. To not be near the way he wanted them to be. He gave his all to the alpha. Maybe he should’ve kept something for himself. Now he could be left with nothing, should Steve decide to order him away.

And to think he onced believed there was nothing left of his heart to break.

He _should’ve_ told the alpha right from the beginning.  He knew what he was getting into, but he had thought himself capable of handling it when the time came, back when he had been too damaged to see. He had believed himself strong enough after years of living under Hammer’s care and surviving, but nothing he suffered through could’ve compared to this feeling. To finally have it within reach, only to be taken away, ripped from his arms. It would crush him.

Why did he believe he was strong enough?

He couldn’t let it keep going. He had brought it upon himself. It wasn’t fair to Steve to keep the illusion running when he had no idea it was even an illusion.  

He only hoped Steve was forgiving for a lie of this extent.

“I’m almost too scared to ask,” Clint said from somewhere in the back, bringing him back to the gathering. Bruce was now standing next to Natasha, eyes grateful and holding her hand in a silent thank you. She gave him a small smile in return, squeezing his hand. Tony could almost imagine Steve doing the same in acceptance, having pity on his heart, but what he imagined and what was to be true could be as different as sweet words said in love are to heartbreak and pure agony.

He held onto that small hope with all his might.

Bucky stepped forward to stand next to Steve, arms crossed and face stern. “Seems the entire pack wants to tag along. We’ll have to plan accordingly and map out the area. Find the best cover.”

Before Steve could add in or reject Pepper piped up. “If it’s all the same to you I can remain here and keep an eye on the place. I feel I’ll be nothing but a burden right now. Maybe after a few more days of training with Natasha, and my aim becomes steady.” Pepper looked worried when she said this, as if expecting them to be disappointed.

“Same here,” Happy added. “If I can’t bodyguard you all I can always houseguard instead.”

Relief was shown in Steve’s form. “That’s two I don’t have to worry about. I like you better already. Just remember what we said when you see a sign of an invasion. Lock the doors, hide, look for possible exits and make your move if absolutely necessary. Hank keeps explosives in the basement if you’re truly desperate. Mix anything that has a questionable color and it should work.”

“ _Don’t_ mix anything with questionable color,” Hank interrupted, glaring at their leader. “You do _not_ want to mix anything with questionable coloring together. You won’t live to tell about it. Only mix together the light blue and the green if you want pure explosions powerful enough to rock the foundation. Get the yellow and the red together if you want to create lethal smoke that’ll kill them within seconds. Red and blue will create blinding lights. Very effective when you wish to fight back. Yellow and green creates a sweet smell that’ll calm any rampant creature.”

“Hank, that last one isn’t useful in the slightest,” Jan said, patting his shoulder.

“If you don’t want to fight it is! Also, there’s a purple liquid in the back. Drink that and you’ll fall into a deep slumber. Nothing will wake you for a good forty eight hours. Very effective and simply incredible! If you find yourself nauseous there’s always my home remedy of -”

Tony tuned him out, shaking his head fondly. If ever Hank were given a moment to talk about his work he’d take it and run off with hours of the day. That man truly was proud of his alchemy.

There had once been a time where Tony had been proud of his own work as well. Back when he believed he had been helping. Perhaps… he could do so once again.

A gentle bump against his leg made him gaze down. Vision stared up at him with his bright, glowing, blue eyes. He whistled long and made his voice go from high to low in a playful manner. A flap of wings soon joined and Jarvis landed on his shoulder, his crest up and about in display before slowly retracting down again. The bright yellow in his feathers slowly disappeared as he settled.

“What has you so deep in thought, Sir?” Jarvis lifted one leg at a time carefully and side-walked to plaster himself against Tony’s neck.

Tony relished the warm contact. “Trying to think of ways I could get rid of you both.”

“You would not dare.”

“Helps me get some rest at night.”

Vision released a high sound in offense. Tony plucked the little machine from the floor, holding him easily. He patted his head in comfort. “Will you both listen if I asked you to remain with Pepper and Happy here?”

As he had expected Vision turned his head away in defiance and Jarvis pinched his early softly in retaliation. “You will have to tie us in place if you wish for that. We have never separated from you for long journeys across the lands and we shall not start now. Do not ask this of us. Please, Sir.” There was a hint of desperation in his tone.

Vision mimicked the sentiment.

The mere thought of letting his kids anywhere near a battle made Tony’s stomach sink and he had been _this_ close to ordering them put, but he knew he had no right to, not when he practically begged Steve to take him along for the contract because he feared being left behind. Jarvis and Vision, similar to himself, didn’t want to get left behind either. He couldn’t go against them unless he wished to be a hypocrite.

He sighed. He had unintentionally set himself up to lose. “Fine, but the moment there’s trouble both of you hide, understand?” Two whistles of different tones was his confirmation. “We better go and pack then.”

No one stopped them as they went up the stairs. Instead of heading to his and Steve’s shared room he went directly for his old one assigned to him upon first arriving. His items and clothing having moved some time ago, all except for a set of gauntlets he had hidden under the bed, wrapped in the very shirt he had worn when he ran away from Hammer. In a moment of bravery he gently placed Vision on the floor, pulled the gauntlets out and pulled back the cloth. The shine of red on the fingers glinted back at him, as if saying hello for after so long and happy to see him.

He ran a finger over the surface, collecting the small amount of dust it managed to gather. A feeling grew within him. One he hadn’t felt in so long with the looming dread hanging over him at Hammer’s and Stane’s presence.

Pride.

This had been, and still was, his cherished work. The finest he had ever done. He slaved for days, manipulated for weeks, in order to get the perfect ratio and the perfect strength. Then he slaved for more when he fitted the runes. Magic from the runes was hard to work with on its own, but to integrate it with an object for the two to work peacefully and flawlessly. To have the gauntlets strong enough to withstand the magic, and to have the magic of the runes measured perfect as to not obliterate the gauntlets? It took hours of concentration, hours that Tony had done willingly and proudly.

It was his finest work, his pride, and he had to hide it away in shame after Stane had used those very same gauntlets to ‘test’ their power and hurt the innocent they were meant to protect. Then he had to steal his own work in order to prevent them from ever being misused again.

He never looked back to them. Now, however… maybe he could use them for good like he had wanted.

His pack haven’t demanded anything out of him, even after they learned of his smithing skills. Steve had never ordered anything of him either. Never forced him on his hands and knees for a quick rump on the sheets. Never ordered him to comply for anything he felt uncomfortable with. Tony knew if he revealed his adaptation with runes his pack wouldn’t dictate weapons or armors out of him. Steve wouldn’t demand him to have everyone fitted.

He could aid in battle. Help turn the tides. Make a _difference_.

He grabbed the very gauntlet on top. Heavier than he remembered, but already he was running alterations through his head to make them lighter yet sturdier at the same time. If he were to add a sharper edge on the surface he could shift the gauntlet to include physical combat as well. With a rune to keep it permanently sharpened and another to make it as durable as steel he could easily slice through layers of chain and leather armor without it wearing out.

He wondered if he could add moving parts to it… perhaps a secret compartment to hide a weapon of sorts? An explosive capable of shattering what his gauntlets’ blast could not.

The urge to run to his shop and start tinkering was a strong one, but he knew there was no time for it. The contract was a long journey, spanning days across southern land, he would need all the energy he could get to avoid being a burden to his pack. For now the gauntlets were perfect. Later he could make them even better.

He turned the gauntlet in hand, revealing the palm and the light blue rune embedded in it. A brief touch caused the rune to faintly glow, bringing the everlasting magic trapped inside to the surface.

From his shoulder he could feel Jarvis leaning in, staring at the stone in wonderment. Vision, too, was staring. His own rune glowing as if responding to the magic.

“Do you feel the use of them will be required, Sir?”

Perhaps not, but Tony couldn’t shake the feeling he _would_ need them. “Never hurts to be too careful.”

“A most admirable suggestion.”

Tony covered up the gauntlets again and stood. “Come on. We’ve got plenty to pack and hardly anything done.”

In his and Steve’s shared room the gauntlets were the first thing he packed once he found his traveling bag. Tucked safely inside he got to work adding what he thought was required. Sets of clothing, naturally. Shirts and pants and a coat for the freezing nights and cold mornings. Of course summer was right around the corner, so while the nights weren’t torturous low temperatures, one could never be too warm.

He set his trusty travel boots next to the pack. Stuffed the small pockets with his personal necessities. Tooth powder, a comb, his favorite oil to soothe his skin after a dip in the water, soap for his clothing, just in case the days lasted longer than planned, and more items he was probably not going to use but never knew when the opportunity would arise.

As Tony took a moment to stare at his pack on his knees, a thought dawned to him. The pack he had put together when he ran away from Hammer and Stane hadn’t been this close to stuffed. Far from it. The small pockets weren’t even filled and the clothing only filled halfway, the gauntlets at the bottom included. What he had now… most, if not all, were a privilege than a necessity, and they were his to choose from.

He… had been spoiled, he realized. His pack, _Steve_ , had spoiled him, have _been_ spoiling him… and he… was about to break their leader’s heart as repayment, like the selfish shifter that he was.

He sighed. Now what was he supposed to do? If he were to tell Steve the truth at that moment everything they had done would be for naught, but if he allowed it to continue it would just make everything worse… not only would Steve’s heart be broken along with his own, but their packs’ heart as well. They _cared_ for him, and he had been withholding secrets from them the entire time.

He didn’t deserve any of them. Steve most of all.

“Sir?”

Tony dug his fingers in the meat of his thighs. “I’m a selfish coward, aren’t I, Jarvis?”

Jarvis tilted his head in response, staring at him sideways. He clearly didn’t know where this statement came from but he wasn’t about to argue back until all the information was given. “I fail to see how.”

“I’ve been with them for nearly half a year now, and I still haven’t told Steve about my little problem.”

“What problem are you referring to?” the feathers on the cockatoo rose in agitation, already offended by Tony’s behalf.

“I can’t give him a family,” he covered his eyes, “he’s given me so much, cares for me, loves me, and yet I can’t give him what he wants.”

“And what does he desire, Sir?” Jarvis prompted. “His pack is his family. He’s already acquired the family he wants.”

“ _Pups_ , Jarvis. _Children_. I can’t give him any children. Pups for him to dote on, to rock to sleep, for him to be a great father to,” he hadn’t meant to but the frustration slipped into his tone.

“Has he stated he wishes for children?”

The words were at the tip of his tongue. Confirmation for the desire. His mouth was open to let the cockatoo hear, but there were no truth to them, not when Steve _hadn’t_ stated he wanted kids. Never had he hinted on it, nor had he bluntly said “ _I want pups, Tony._ ” He had nothing to confirm the statement with, but also nothing to deny it.

“Everyone does.”

“But has Captain Rogers, _specifically_ , stated it?” Jarvis repeated. “He is not _‘everyone_ ,’ Sir. He has his own wants and needs, and I have seen nothing that would deter him away from you. Not your physical appearance, not your charming personality, and I imagine not your inability to produce heirs.”

Tony understood what Jarvis was saying. Steve wanted him and only him, but time changed opinions, and what if later on Steve got the desire to have little Steves running around?

“Wants change.”

“And I’m sure if you sit down and speak about the issues as proper adults you will be able to find a solution together.” Jarvis held nothing back.

“Has anyone told you to work on your pep talks, Jarvis?”

The cockatoo nipped his ear. “Considering no one has I imagine my inspirational speeches have caused the attended effect.”

Tony’s chuckle broke halfway. “Brutal is what they are.”

“You see the truth, however.”

“Yeah, yes I do.” He sighed again. The hesitation and fear was still present, but the smallest of hope of everything turning out just fine built up. “What am I going to say?”

“The truth, perhaps.”

A knock on the door had them turning. He had left it open upon entering and in the doorway stood Jan, knuckle against the frame. “Can I come in?”  

Tony stood, wincing at the sensation of his left foot having fallen asleep and both knees aching. He was getting too old to rest on them. “Of course you can. What’s going on?”

Jan smiled. “All the alphas are downstairs getting the plan together. Sam, Clint and Loki included because they’re just stubborn like that. Hank actually sent me to pass this along. Says I do better with conversations like this when really he has the social capability of a drunken ant.”

She held out her hand. A small vial of clear liquid rested on her palm. “Take this. It’s something he cooked up for us. More effective than what you find selling in stalls or alchemy shops. Keeps our heats and ruts under control for a longer time than common remedies. Perfect for long travels, like this one we’re about to do.”

Tony’s heart slowed. His breath growing heavier with each intake as her words sank in. _Suppressants_ , he concluded. Of course the Avengers would take some right before traveling the lands to complete long contracts. No traveling pack, especially war packs, in their right mind would risk ruts or heats in the middle of their journey, not at their most vulnerable time.

Tony had once upon a time been familiar with these remedies, back when he had been healthy and young enough to have natural heats. Then those remedies soon changed from suppressants to boosters when he found his body unable to naturally produce heats anymore. These boosters were meant to aid his body and bring forth his times, but they hardly took, leaving him devastated more often than not, and when they _did_ his heats were… not pleasant. He recalled Hammer, and many members of his old business pack describe his heat scent as “a damn rotting _corpse_ ! You’re trying to kill us all. _Get out_ and take care of it yourself.”

There had been no pleasure getting rid of these unnatural heats that his body sometimes produced, or the remedies brought forth. Then his body stopped those heats entirely, finally surrendering, and Hammer never tried for a pup again so he no longer had been obligated to take those remedies. He was free. Heart stricken, but free.

The reason why he couldn’t give Steve a family. His body had given up long ago.

He reached out for Jan’s hand, fingers shaking towards the vial, but instead of grabbing it he closed Jan’s hand over it, hiding it from view. His vision blurred ever slightly as small tears he tried his hardest to hold back formed. This was a start. His pitiful recret. “I won’t need it,” he said with a bittersweet smile. “I don’t - don’t get heats. Haven’t… for the longest time.”

Jan had a frown in her confusion, but it didn’t remain long. She understood his meaning. It wasn’t hard not to. Her eyes were wide with understanding. There wasn’t a single ounce of pity in them.

“Oh, Tony…” she reached out to him. When he didn’t reject her touch she pulled him closer to hold. “Oh… Tony…”

Tony buried his face on her shoulder. There were tears, but none of them fell. He had long ago stitched the wound it had created. The only pain he felt was the dull stinging of a reopened scar.

No one in his old pack lent him a shoulder to cry on back when he had really needed it. They probably hadn’t even realized the distress he had been going through at the time. More relieved than anything at the lack of ‘ _rotting corpses_ ’ to foul the place. The gesture meant more to him than Jan would ever realize, even if he had already gone through the sorrow long ago. It was comforting and gave him hope.

“I’m sorry I never told any of you.”

Jan’s breath hitched. “Why would you be sorry about that?”

“Everything all of you have done for me, to help Steve -”

“Shh,” Jan interrupted, pulling back. Gloom in her eyes. “Everything we’ve ever done is because we _care_ about you, Tony. Nothing else. Steve because he _loves_ you, not because he wanted something from you. This - this doesn’t change anything. You decide what to tell us or what not to tell us. It’s your right, and no one, not even us, can take that from you.”

“But Steve -”

“Steve is - _Steve_ \- I can’t speak for Steve. That’s a conversation meant just for the both of you, but you have to believe me when I say Steve has waited for far too long to throw you away like you think he will.” Jan sounded so confident, so _sure_ , but how could she say it so easily? “Talk to him, Tony, before you think the worse. It might not be as bad as you’re imagining.”

“And what if it is?” Tony’s voice was soft, just above a whisper. Vulnerable.

“Then you won’t be alone. I promise you that.” A very easy thing to have said, but a hard thing to actually do.

Tony breathed out and gently, “All right.” More emotions in those two words than what was possible.

Jan cupped his face. “Tony you _won’t_ be alone.”

Tony’s lips wobbled slightly as he tried to smile. “I believe you.” He closed his eyes, hoping it was enough. “I believe you.”

“You’ll see. We don’t give up easily, you know that.”

That hope grew ever slightly more with her persistence. Sooner or later she’ll run him down with it until believing her was all he’d have left.

“I know. I believe you,” he said one more time. If he listened hard enough he almost swore it true. There might even be confidence in the statement. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think you know what direction this is heading? Here's the thing, it might not turn out like you're thinking it will!
> 
> Cross your fingers the next part won't take as long!
> 
> Let me know whatcha thought <3


	29. The Contract Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost two months later but here it is! Sorry about all the very late updates.  
> On the bright side I ended up going back and rewriting the draft for FP, so expect things to be a little more darker than I originally intended. It just sort of happened.  
> Also, we're about two chapters away from the official thing and for the mpreg to finally happen! We're almost there, guys!
> 
> For this chapter, nothing but Steve and Tony appreciating each other and acting silly, but they're finally starting the contract now.

Steve held tight to him that night. Tighter than usual. Tony understood why. The urge to protect one’s mate from danger was a strong one. For an alpha it hit worse. It went against their very instincts to allow their mates anywhere near it, and Tony could only imagine what was running through Steve’s head at the thought of him joining the journey.

He allowed the arm around his middle. Past the blanket and his clothing to touch skin. He didn’t think he could remove it even if he tried, or wanted to. He made sure to always make a sound of reassurance each time the grip tightened just a little or the arm trembled.

He hadn’t dared bring up the truth yet. The fear returning and taking full force of him, turning him cowardly the moment Jan had left to join the others. The small hope of everything ending on a happy note that she had encouraged walked out along with her.

Tony had sat on the edge of the bed. Jarvis on his knee and Vision by his feet. He had contemplated how he could bring up the subject, how to just _say it_ , going over all the possibilities in his head, but as soon as Steve appeared through the doors, looking worse for wear, Tony’s hesitation took hold and it sealed his mouth shut.

Steve didn’t need the truth haunting him when he had so much already to worry about. The contract, the journey, their pack’s safety.Tony had no right to throw his own issues at the alpha when he least wanted to hear of them. And so Tony kept quiet. His secret a ticking explosion just waiting to happen and dangerous to hold at such a vulnerable time.

He promised to reveal the truth when the opportunity presented itself. The first moment he could. No dangers, no contracts, no Avengers business, and once Steve learned of the truth Tony swore to make it as easy as possible for him and for their pack. Whatever decision the alpha decided on. No matter if it ended with Tony in tears, with Steve or with both. Tony would accept the consequences with his head held high. He’d make Rhodey, Pepper and Happy promise to stay, to not give up the good things that have finally happened to them. He’d make Bruce promise to not worry for him. Make them promise to not look for him.

He brought this upon himself. It was right he’d be the one to pay for it. The _only_ one to.

Eventually the alpha finally went to sleep. Tony not far behind. Secured in the knowledge that he won’t get left behind just yet. That he still had some time to enjoy before it all crashed and burned around him.

He was woken up the next morning by the sounds of Steve walking around their room. He was putting on the pieces of fitted armor for the journey. Tony remained still as he watched his alpha dress. The muscles bulging under the cloth as he fitted iron and hide over it. He tightened straps and belts to keep it in place, working with the weight and force to have proper protection. Tony noted was the same armor the alpha had worn the first time the Avengers had run into Tony and Bruce.

Or was it more appropriate to say it had been Tony who ran into the Avengers?

The sight was beautiful and Tony had the urge to go and undo all that hard work just to see the tight cloth under it. To look one more time the glory that was hidden under all that hard cover, hide and iron. Perhaps run his fingers over, kiss, nuzzle… then again, the area where iron met hide just over his pecs left much to be desired. The nagging sensation to just go over and _fix_ that was stronger. If Tony had his tools on him he could make it so the iron and hide almost blended perfectly. No arrow or spear could penetrate without a huge extortion of force.

And that shield… if he remembered correctly Steve had a history of always breaking them from usage. What if he were to integrate a rune and make it near indestructible? Somewhere in the back of the shield to keep it hidden most likely. He wondered if Steve had the tendency to lose said shield. He might know of a way to make it so the shield would return to him without hesitation. For two runes to always attract each other. 

His fingers twitched, wanting to grab that shield and get to work. No, not even grab that shield. He could make a better one. Larger, with near perfect ratio, and balanced. _Most importantly_ balanced.

“Enjoy something you see?” The alpha had a smirk on. Chest out in a small show, preening from Tony watching him.

There was some color forming on his cheeks. Tony was surprised he managed to keep most of it at bay. He had been gawking at his mate, sort of, and was caught red handed, but did that mattered? It was _his_ mate. He could look. Steve hadn’t forbidden it, or forced him not to, nor quite the opposite and forced him _to_ look. It was out of pure want on his end, and it was _Steve_. Who wouldn’t take a moment to admire?

He hoped he didn’t overstep. “Maybe,” he tried for cheeky. Having the courage for it and wondering where that courage went last night.

He couldn’t think about that now. The journey was ahead and Steve and their pack needed all the support. There was no time for his issues.

“I can admire if I want… right?” he added out of reflex. The cheekiness gone. He just _had to make sure_.

Steve prowled closer. A growl of approval releasing from his throat. “You don’t know how _happy_ I get when you do. How _proud._  To have my mate look at me like that?” Steve hovered above him. “Makes me want to pin you down.”

A soft noise escaped from Tony when Steve placed a hand on his side. “Shouldn’t I be the one to pin you down?” He had been the one staring, after all.

“Oh, you want to be on top, do you?” That smirk grew bigger. Eyes full of mischief. “All you had to do was say so, Sweetheart.”

This time Tony couldn’t control his flush coming almost full force. “That’s not what I meant!”

Steve pulled back in laughter, even as Tony threw pillow after pillow at him. The laughter switched to the occasional chuckle when the projectiles eventually stopped. “Come on. Everyone’s getting ready and we need to fit you in your armor.”

Tony sat upright. That was new. “I have armor?”

“It’s Clint’s old pair. You’re around the same height. Maybe an inch or two shorter, but the important thing is to protect you. You might struggle a bit fitting in Clint’s pants though.”

He had to think about it before he realized the meaning. A pillow went flying and striking Steve’s head when he did. “ _Steve!_ ”

Being mocked aside Tony was thankful the alpha had woken up in such a great mood, compared to the mood he had gone to bed with. No doubt the worry was still present, and the fear, but the fact that Steve had mentioned the armor without much struggle showed he was accepting it instead of fighting against it.

He knew Tony was going and he wasn’t about to turn around, give into his instincts and order him put at the last second.

With encouragement Tony got up and prepared for the journey ahead. When Steve finished strapping in his armor he patiently waited, eyes never trailing far from watching Tony. A smile graced his face when Tony tried taming his wild bedhead and happily took up the job of helping him, running his fingers through the dark with silver strands. Face to face they stood. He took longer than required with each movement but Tony wasn’t going to rush him. Not when the sensation felt so good.

Steve was in deep thought as he curled his fingers on a strand here and there. Tony took that moment to admire him. Admire his large blue eyes. His jaw and chin fit for an alpha of his stature. Hardly a single line of age in sight. If he focused hard enough he could see the fraction of a second where one eyelid blinked slower than the other. What an interesting quirk. He wondered if Steve was aware of it.

“Nothing more I can do for this part right here,” Steve said through his admiring daze. “Seems to want a permanent place on your head.”

The hand moved back and twirled its fingers around the long strands of hair on his front. He hadn’t gotten around to visiting a barber yet. His hair had grown considerably to the point of naturally curling at the edges. Steve, he found, loved playing with them and Tony enjoyed the attention.

Brown eyes locked on blue. Blue growing softer the longer they stared. Then worry etched itself around them. “Remember your promise, Tony.”

Tony hummed, leaning his head into the hand pulling his curls.

“Listen to every order I say. Don’t throw yourself in danger and when I tell you, you run, understand?”

“I’ll remember.”

“Tony, _please_.”

Tony grabbed the hand and gave it a gentle kiss on its palm. “I’ll remember, Steve.” Arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer. Iron and stiff hide poked at his skin. His only defense his thin night clothing. “I traveled the roads before. This isn’t my first time.”

“You never willingly went to enemy territory, though, did you?”

“Well, no. I had some run ins with raiders.” He recalled the group that attacked when it had been him and Bruce walking to new shacks. With Hulk by his side, surely they had little to fear.

“Hydra aren’t very well organized, but what they lack in order they make up for in sheer numbers. They know how to surround you easy and take away your options. Depending on the area we’ll either have to hit them hard and quick before they can reinforce, or make them come to us one group at a time.”

Tony was well aware about the numbers. Hydra packs were notorious for going out of their way and doing what most shifters considered an oddity. Forming multiple packs of different numbers and sizes with different leaders in charge and all living under the same name. They were out there chasing the same goal, causing panic, and taking from others. Their name had long made them infamous, and while many war packs took up the mantle to take them down they were persistent and recovered their numbers within months.

Hydra packs really stuck to their name. Growing another head once one had been chopped off.

The Avengers have been one of the war packs to make the biggest dent against Hydra. Not enough to eradicate them, but just so for their names to be called upon when Hydra was involved.

Tony understood the dangers. Hydra was in no sense perfectly organized, but it took a certain amount of skill, or a very strong leader, in order for multiple packs to follow the same path. Mutiny was a very big possibility, but somehow many Hydra packs have managed to avoid those all together. That alone in itself was enough to garner some respect. And their numbers all the more reason to respect the war packs who took the fight to them.

The Avengers deserved every ounce of royalty they received.

And now Tony was to join their fight by their side. He had one opportunity to impress, and no option for failure. If he could show them he was more than an old, blacksmith omega who managed to somehow win their leader’s heart he could have actual worth and a reason to keep him around long after he becomes the old, blacksmith omega who broke their leader’s heart.

He might be considered and allowed to stay if Steve saw more worth in him. That was all he could ask for.

He had a lot riding on this. He couldn’t be a burden to their pack.

Tony nodded once. “I’ll be careful, Steve.” He didn’t add the ‘don’t worry’ part, considering his alpha would probably never stop worrying about him. An alpha’s instincts to always keep their mates safe made it near impossible. If luck was on his side Tony might be able to prove himself during the journey and in return possibly lessen that worry to mild natural concern.

A knock on the door signalled the arrival of someone and after Steve gave them permission to enter the door opened just a crack and in popped Clint’s head cautiously. The sight of a floating head with a frown was something to see. “We’re about to leave soon and you’re trying to get a quickie in? Wait, what’s our current record for fastest?”

Steve shook his head. “I’m fully armored right now. You really think I’m going to be breaking records in this state?”

“Fastest time for getting naked then?”

“Pretty sure Loki has us beat with that and will be holding that record close. Spells his clothes invisibile,” he explained to Tony when Tony gave them a questioning look at that confession. Made sense. “There a reason why you’re poking your head in?”

Clint pushed the door further opened, revealing himself ready with his armor on, his bow on his back and a quiver hanging on his waist and strapped down in place on his thigh. In his arms he held pieces of armor. Hides and iron. Light in his hold, but no doubt heavier than it looked. “Came to give my old set. Even brought the good boots.”

Steve pulled away from Tony and reached for the armor. “Thanks, Clint. Anyone downstairs yet?”

“Almost everyone except for Thor, Hank and my sweety pie Rhodey. He’s still getting ready. Sam’s already got breakfast going. Aren’t my mates the best?” he asked with a flutter of his eyes.

Steve wasn’t exactly impressed. “Out you deranged jackal. Go catch your mate half naked or something.”

“I already tried. Rhodey is still a bit bashful with me. Once I get my chance I’ll make sure he never puts on clothes again. He’ll be too tired to.”

“You know, suddenly I understand how Rhodey felt when you all put me and sex in the same sentence. Please stop,” Tony scrunched up his face. Too much information.

“Consider this payback for that time in your workshop.”

“You did go in sniffing, Clint,” Steve reminded him. “Not our fault you got a snout-full. It’s Tony’s personal place.”

“For _smithing_. Not for getting a heat on. You have rooms with _locks_ to do that.”

“Which you’re currently in,” there was a smug smile on the alpha’s face, knowing exactly how Clint would react to the information. “On that very bed we’ve rolled around naked as I ate him -”

As expected Clint threw the armor in his arms on the bed and slapped his hands over his hears in a failed attempt at stopping the words.“No! Don’t want to hear it. Can’t hear anything. La la not a word.” He fled out the room soon after, slamming the door and singing in a sharp note all the way down the hall. Easily heard through the walls.

Tony coughed awkwardly, rubbing the side of his flushing face. He was thankful Jarvis and Vision were not in the room with them, saving him from _that_ parental embarrassment.

“That was easy. I think we’ve found a sure way to chase Clint off now without a fight.” Steve made his way towards the bed to grab the visible chest plate. All hide with spots of iron. The iron covering fatal points on the torso and the hide layered just enough that any sharp objects would not penetrate unless forced multiple times.

Steve looked at him. “Can I help you dress?”

It was asked in a way that prevented any assumptions about whether or not Tony knew how to dress in armor. Tony understood the order of the set more or less, but he never wore full armor. Only the quilted jackets that offered the bare minimum in protection while allowing him to run, should the betas from his previous pack had failed to keep the danger away.

Technically he knew, but he hadn’t actually gotten the chance to attempt it. Knowing and trying were completely different. Instead of looking the fool he decided to accept the offered help. He walked closer to his alpha and spread his arms out in a silent yes.

It earned him a fond smile. “First things first. You’re going to have to remove your sleepwear. That shirt won’t offer much protection and this armor isn’t going to be nice to it.”

Tony did as he was told and removed the soft shirt, exposing his chest and his scars to the crisp air. Out of reflex he bundled up the clothing over them in order to hide the marks. Steve was having none of it. He placed the armor back on the bed, gave a kiss on Tony’s forehead and gently removed the bundled up shirt and ran a soothing hand over the raised skin. “Don’t hide from me.”

It wasn’t much to ask for, but it was something Tony would find difficult to do. The instinct to just hide his imperfections embedded deep within his being. Sharp words from his past digging them further and further down, almost out of reach. Soft words of love and encouragement slowly breaking down that instinct, lifting it up from deep within his pit of doubt. He took a deep breath. He could do it. For himself and for Steve.

A war pack had no use for an omega with self-doubt. They required shifters with strength and quick thinking and confidence. They had no place for the weak. No place for an omega such as himself if he weren’t the mate of their pack alpha.

No place for Tony if he couldn’t do something as little as show his chest to his alpha without hesitating. Bracing himself he nodded and straightened out, resulting in his chest expanding outward. No need to pause. He trusted Steve.

His alpha trailed his hand down to his side and gently pulled him upwards while leaning his head down, meeting his chest in the middle and kissing his scars. Kiss after kiss he placed, growing hotter and lasting longer with each one on different areas. Being pulled closer Tony ran his fingers through Steve’s hair in response, needing something to hold on to.

His body responded accordingly as it always seemed to do when Steve touched him, but it wasn’t the time for it. Not when their pack was getting ready and most were already waiting downstairs for them.

“Steve our pack is downstairs waiting. Clint will be very upset if he comes back to find us doing this.” His alpha hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t stop and in fact got bolder and moved his hand further down to cup his rear. Tony was seconds away from scolding him but broke out in laughter instead when Steve seized his kissing and suddenly began blowing against his skin, creating raspberries and tickling him. “Steve!”

Steve pulled back with a smile, looking young and carefree. “Yes, Darling?”

Tony pulled back when his alpha tried blowing on his skin again. Laughter loud and strong. “ _How_ are you leader of this pack?”

“Plain luck I guess.”

“Down. Stop it.”

“But you taste so delicious. Just one little nibble.”

In his haste to stop those lips Tony ended up falling on the bed and dragging Steve and his armored-clad figure on top of him, knocking the wind clean out of him. He groaned at the pressure. “This is the end for me.”

“Now you sound like Clint.”

“You’ve seen him go through this before?”

“On the road. Piling up to stop him from climbing trees.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy.”

“Probably not.” From where he landed Steve ended up with his face right over Tony’s chest. His ear right over his heart. He made a soft noise as he took a couple of seconds to just listen before he picked himself up and off. “Come on. Time to dress you for the trip.”

Piece by piece Steve helped him put on Clint’s old set of armor. Each one taking longer than necessary when Steve couldn’t resist running his hands to pat down the material and admiring him after each set was placed. Tony didn’t help their time when he indulged his alpha by turning in a circle to show off and preened when Steve gave appreciative looks with every twirl.

Eventually, with pure will and some encouragement by their packmates stomping up the stairs and shouting down the hall for them to hurry up, Tony was armored and ready for the journey ahead. Their bags full with trip necessities, Tony’s gauntlets safely tucked away and the buzzing of it’s magic reaching out to him to show it prepared, they made their way down the hall.

Right as they were about to reach the stairs Tony stopped abruptly. Steve, ever the worried one, frowned in concern. “Tony?”

“I have to go.”

It took a couple of seconds but when Steve understood what he meant he didn’t look like he could stop himself from laughing if he tried. He doubled over and held himself up by his knees. Tony probably should’ve taken care of business before dressing in layers that required being unclasped one by one to be removed. How did the Avengers or war packs in general even _manage_ it?

“About damn time!” Bucky said when they _finally_ made their appearance. “What took you both so long? Did you get each other out of your systems?”

“I don’t think that’ll ever be possible,” Steve said, grinning with an arm over Tony’s shoulders. “Can’t get enough of him.”

Rhodey coughed to interrupt them all. “Let’s not talk about my best friend and sex in the same sentence again. I still haven’t gotten rid of the last time from my head.”

Bucky nodded. “I agree. Get to eating. We’ll be leaving soon.”

Breakfast was a small affair between them both. To prepare for the long trip and to avoid overindulging that would result in a slower pace and less stamina they ate a small share of fruits, bread and cheese and rationed any extras. Tony made sure to sneak a few more for Jarvis.

Belly not so full but not starving either Tony was set to join his pack for a travel for the first time. Outside they all made their way. Jarvis at one point joining him on his shoulder and Vision sitting comfortably in a bag held by Rhodey. Pepper and Happy followed them outside but didn't join them further than the front door. They waited patiently while Steve ordered everyone to double check their items, made sure everyone was well and prepared and gave a quick speech for morale sake.

“Should anything happen grab what you absolutely need and run. You know where Hank’s shop is located. Grab what you feel best suits any situation and act fast.” Steve reminded the two betas staying behind. “If running is your safest option head for Hattan and seek shelter. Head further East if you must. We'll find you.”

“We understand,” Pepper said. “Don’t worry about us. Just make sure to bring everyone back safe.”

“My first priority.” Steve turned back to face the pack. “Avengers. Move out.”

All as one they marched. Tony waved goodbye to Pepper and Happy the whole time they were within sight until the trees slowly obscured them. Even after he could no longer see them he couldn’t bring himself to look away from their direction until Rhodey came to his side and bumped his shoulder gently.

“They’ll be fine.”

“I know. Pepper can be vicious when she wants to be.”

“Don’t want to mess with her when that happens,” Rhodey agreed. “Let’s focus. According to the Captain it’s going to be a long walk with dangerous enemies. Let’s make sure we don’t give Pep and Happy a reason to worry about _us_.”

“You have little faith.”

“Says the shifter who was pacing and worried sick about the idea of not knowing.”

“You betray me.”

“Never,” Rhodey wrapped an arm around him. “Just keeping you level headed and reasonable. Someone has to.”

Steve barked an order and had the pack rearranging to best build a defense and offense. Once settled he picked up the pace and down the road the Avengers went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> For the next upcoming chapters, badassness all around. Tony and Bruce about to show what they're made of.   
> Oh, and the baby, too.
> 
> Fair warning. I'm not good with action or fighting so bare with me.  
> And I apologize in advance for it!


	30. Bad Choices and Limitations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lie yet again as I change up badass Tony and Bruce for another chapter where Tony makes bad decisions and his family is quick to put a stop to it.  
> Buuuut, I changed it to another thing everyone's been wanting for a while.  
> Eventually is finally here!
> 
> Remember how I said it won't happen how many imagined it'll happen? Yep.  
> It makes sense later on.
> 
> Lack of self-care, playing hero and quick sex in this chapter!

Tony had a newfound respect for any shifter who traveled the roads of the land in full body armor. Barely an hour into the long walk and he had already started sweating and breathing deeply with the added weight. The armor itself wasn’t necessarily heavy, but to Tony, who wore at most a quilted jacket that only added a small amount of weight, it felt as if stones were placed in his very pockets and were slowly fusing together through the heat to create a large boulder. 

Not exactly a great start to showing he could be worth more than just being their leader’s omega. 

He tried his hardest to pretend nothing was amiss. Wiping the sweat discreetly and breathing quietly to hide any discomfort. Even Jarvis had switched shoulders to Rhodey in an attempt to lessen the strain on him. Tony was both grateful and torn. He refused to admit his troubles or his out of shape state. Yes, he had more body weight than he was accustomed to for long trips and yes the armor added to that weight and caused his heart and lungs to work overtime as the hours ticked by, but he refused to give his pack reasons to leave him behind for the next time and he refused to give up. 

Onward he pushed with the pace Steve had set, resisting the urge to drink water every ten minutes and to stop to breathe every five. Mind over matter. He was a strong omega and he needed to prove it. No matter his body’s limit. But as the sun reached close to its peak and his legs burned in ways he hadn’t felt in years his pace slowed considerably to the point of it impossible not to notice. 

Because of the setup their leader had decided on Tony and Hank ended up taking the center as ranged attackers while most of the alphas were placed in the outer area to take the brunt of any surprise attacks. Hank easily noticed his lagging and one look at his face showed him enough. 

“How are you holding up?” 

Against his will, Tony choked out a gasp when he tried to answer. His body letting him know how displeased it was. A sharp intake followed and he plastered on a smile. “I’m fine. Just a little winded. I haven’t traveled like this in a while.” 

Hank frowned. “Are you sure?” 

“Just need to get my traveling legs back. It’s been a while. Don’t worry.” 

“You seem to need more than just your legs back. No offense. Do you need a rest?” 

“No, I’ll be fine.” 

Hank wasn’t convinced and in fact seemed almost judgemental in his stare. “Is the pace too fast?” 

Frustration was not something he felt often for a pack mate, but Hank was doing a fair job pushing his limitation. The longer Hank focused on the issue the more attention he was going to attract and the last thing Tony needed was for everyone to notice his tired state within hours of leaving their home. That was  _ not  _ how a good impression was made. 

“It’s fine. Drop it,  _ please _ .” 

“Something wrong over here?” A nightmare coming to life right before him. Sam got closer and shifted his gaze back and forth between Tony and Hank, trying to spot the problem. 

“No,” Tony was quick to say but he couldn’t do anything about the sweat and the flush on his face, and Hank wasn’t helping his situation. 

“He’s having trouble breathing,” Hank said with no consideration.

“I’m not. I’m  _ fine _ .” 

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Are you really? Not everyone’s the same but I’m pretty sure red faces with sweat and breathing problems means you’re reaching your limit.” 

“It’s nothing. I’m just not used to it yet, but I can keep going.” 

“Sure,” Sam said dryly. “If it’s nothing you wouldn’t mind me telling Steve -”

“Wait,” Tony shot his hand out to grab Sam’s arm. “ _ Don’t _ .  _ Please. _ ” 

“Nothing good comes out of trying to be a hero. Especially in moments when we absolutely need you at your best. This isn’t just about your own welfare. What affects you will end up affecting the pack in the end.” 

A sharp stab in his chest and Tony had his hand retracting quickly. The words cutting him deep. Already he was disappointing his pack. Everything was backfiring on him. Everything he did ended up wrong. It was almost hopeless. 

“You can’t think this way, Tony. You have a pack to consider. A team to help.” 

“I’m sorry,” Tony looked away shamefaced. It was all falling apart so soon. 

Sam’s sigh carried heavily between them. “Don’t try this again,” the beta appeared torn. “I’ll go talk with Steve.” 

Not even a day had passed and already he was going to be deemed unfit and sent back. It seemed, in the end, he was destined to remain pack-less after all.

He felt harsh judgmental eyes on him when the line up slowed down to a stop. Everyone knew he was the reason for their unplanned break. He was sure of it. Everyone was disappointed. Everyone was ready to scoff at his weak state and send him back. 

“Ten minutes,” he heard Steve shout from the front. “Then we'll move out again.”

“Finally!” Clint said to the wind and hurried under a tree to the shadows. Beads of sweat visible on his forehead. “I'm burning up here.”

“It  _ is _ hotter than usual,” Natasha said as she wiped her face down with a piece of cloth. 

A loud ‘thunk’ signaled Rhodey having dropped on the floor next to Clint. He was panting and in worse shape than Clint, but by far better than Tony. “This pack doesn't hold back its punches, does it? This pace is brutal.”

All around him everyone rushed for shade, escaping the heat of the day. No one even bothered to look at him, let alone notice his own state of being. Everyone had their own circumstances going for them. Even Steve was flushed with sweat on his brow and pink on his cheeks. The only one who seemed least affected by the heat was Loki, appearing cool to the skin and not a single drop in sight on his face. 

The worst of them were without a doubt himself and Bruce, if Bruce’s heavy breathing and slumped figure against a tree had anything to say. He felt a little better knowing he hadn’t been the only one getting affected, but he was among the ones in worse shape. Maybe instead of having worked his forge, he should’ve focused on increasing his stamina and pulling back on all the food he spoiled himself with. 

The weight of armor was a necessary burden. The weight of self-indulgence? Not so much. That issue was on him and him alone, along with his apparent lack of self-control. 

Wiping the sweat from his brow he moved to join his pack under the shade, choosing to stick close to Bruce in a subtle attempt to hide and lessen his fatigue from curious eyes. Perhaps with two out of breath omegas the pack wouldn't push the issue. 

“Why does it feel as if we crossed the entire land when we haven't even reached the main road yet?” Bruce sounded winded and ready to rest for hours. “I don't remember getting this breathless from walking with them the first time.”

“Bruce I hate to say this but I think we let ourselves go,” perhaps joking about it would lessen the emotional sting. 

“Can’t deny that. I think I gained more weight with them than I did the whole time with my old pack.” 

“You think they’re fattening us up for something?” Tony whispered, the tone of conspiracy in the air. 

“Our plan has been exposed,” Loki said as he walked by them, having heard their conversation. Not looking one bit tired. “We shall have to act soon if we wish to enjoy our meal as planned. Canine flesh proves to be most delectable when fear seasons it.”

Bruce and Tony actually looked worried. 

Thor followed closely behind Loki. “He jests,” he told them with a smile before frowning, “or I believe he jests,” then continued casually without another word, not making the omegas feel any better.

Bruce began rummaging through his bag, pulling out wrapped food. “If they’re fattening us up might as well.” Inside the cloth were cheese slices and small pieces of bread. A quick snack before they continued the walk. “Take some.” 

As tempting as it was Tony refused to accept the food. He was not about to make his easily fatigue body worse. He needed to prove himself to his pack. The less weight the better. “Not right now, thank you.” 

Bruce snacked on his own as Tony rested his tired bones. He hadn’t spoken to Steve yet since their small break started and he hoped to keep it that way. The last thing he wanted was to be subjected to Steve’s disappointment. He had plenty of time and plenty of material to do that later. He needed to earn as much respect as he possibly could for this contract. 

Soon enough they began moving again. Tony made sure to pace himself properly to last as long as he could before he became breathless again and for a couple of hours he did wonderfully. The tread Steve had them going made it difficult but he had done his best before his legs began shaking again. He pushed even further when it became obvious they weren’t going to stop until long after his legs began feeling numb. He controlled his breathing to avoid any attention but the visible sweat made it difficult to fake. Thankfully it hadn’t been just him. 

By the time Steve ordered them to rest a second time the sun was signaling for dinner. Lunch had consisted of them eating their packed snacks while walking. Tony chose to avoid it under the guise of simply not hungry yet, even if his stomach growled in protest of it. Now that dinnertime had come upon them the pangs of hunger were felt the strongest and his legs were wobbling more than they usually did when tired. 

Even so, he resisted reaching for his packed food. The water he drank willingly but the food was weight gain he did not need at the moment. 

As his pack sat to enjoy their small meal Tony claimed a secluded spot in order to avoid his well-meaning packmates from offering their share, should they currently feel in a giving mood. Resting on the ground he drank his water and imagined it to be a warm and seasoned, delicious stew that soothed the pangs in his stomach. His body didn’t fall for the imagery but the liquid did help lessen the hunger slightly. 

It was all about distraction. Distract from his body’s needs. 

Then a piece of dried meat was shoved to his face and the smells of preserved seasonings brought back the hunger tenfold. At the end of the arm holding the meat was Steve with a bright smile and a look that wasn’t going to accept 'no' without looking disheartened.

Tony still tried either way, aiming for reasoning. “Thank you, but I’m not hungry yet.” 

As expected, Steve’s face fell, but he didn’t give in. He got comfortable next to Tony, knees touching and offered it again. When Tony shook his head once more Steve was quick to take a bite out of it and hummed in delight at the taste. If he had been hoping for a reaction he got it when Tony’s eyes lingered as he chewed and swallowed audibly and it caused Tony’s stomach to growl unhappily from it not being the one receiving the food. Tony had tried covering it by dragging his foot on the ground and creating noise but he was seconds too late. Steve had heard it loud and clear. 

“Sounds like you’re hungry now,” there wasn’t disappointment in his voice but it was a close thing. Steve was being patient. “You haven’t eaten anything since the morning, Tony.”

Denial was on the tip of his tongue but something sharp in Steve’s eyes showed he wasn’t in the mood. Steve had been observant enough to notice Tony denying himself food and did not appreciate it. Tony lowered his head and his gaze landed on the canteen in his hands. His alpha wasn’t happy with him. The last thing he should do was argue with him. 

“Sweetheart why aren’t you eating?” His voice was calm but firm. It demanded an answer. 

Tony kept his head down, submitting and remaining quiet. 

“ _ Tony. _ ” 

“I… didn’t want to.” 

“But  _ why? _ ”

His throat burned. “I thought it would help.” 

“What could  _ not  _ eating possibly help you with? That’s - that’s the  _ opposite  _ of helping. Especially when traveling.” 

The more he said the more Tony’s shoulders hunched. Being scolded wasn’t the greatest feeling and it was made worse when Steve was clearly holding himself back, not even close to saying what he wanted to say. Tony would shatter if Steve released that restraint. 

“I didn’t want to slow us down,” he admitted. “The less I ate the less weight holding me back the and the longer I could travel.”

“Except doing that would cause more harm than good, Tony. You burn energy as we walk and the last thing you want is your body to go hungry when it needs that energy from food. You _know_ this.”

He did, but that didn’t mean he used that knowledge when rationality was needed. Not when Tony wanted to please, even if he disregarded his own health. His alpha sighed, and even though there was an underlayer of frustration in his scent he still wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders in comfort. Tony knew better than to resist. He went willingly when Steve pulled him gently closer and snuggled up. 

“Why do you think you’re slowing us down?” Steve asked against his hair. 

“I can’t keep up. I get out of breath easily.”

“Don’t know if you noticed, Sweetheart, but you’re not the only one. Everyone gets out of breath easily, especially with the pace I’m pushing for. In fact, for traveling with us for the first time you and Bruce are doing pretty impressive. You’re keeping up even better than Jan and Hank had.” 

“Really? You aren’t just saying that to try and make me feel better?” 

“I’ll always try and make you feel better if I can, but I  _ am  _ telling the truth. I hadn’t planned on bringing you both to this dangerous contract. You haven’t received any form of training, let alone worked on your stamina, or at least not the stamina to keep you running,” Tony could practically see the smug face of his from saying that comment, “and I hate to break it to you, but you  _ are  _ wearing armor. Light armor sure, but it’s still extra weight. Have you ever traveled with something similar?” 

“No...” 

“There you have it. You’re not used to it. Give yourself time and once we get home we’ll add some laps around our territory in your schedule to get started.” 

Tony whined. “Do we have to?” 

“We do now. If your solution is to stop eating.” 

Deflated, Tony snuggled into Steve’s chest in apology. “I’m sorry.” 

“I know you are,” Steve nuzzled the back of his neck in acceptance. “Promise me you won’t try something like this again when traveling. I need you to take care of yourself.” 

“I’ll try.”

The alpha hummed and inhaled deeply, contentment replacing the frustration from earlier in his scent. “You smell sweet,” he remarked out of the blue.

Odd. “Do I?” 

“Yes. I like it. Smell warm.” To show how much he seemed to enjoy it Steve buried his nose on the side of his neck and stayed put, not allowing Tony to straighten up. Tony had to adjust himself to get comfortable with half his body on Steve’s lap. It was awkward to eat the dried meat and cheese slices and fruits with the angle but he managed without Steve once moving. Only until Bucky deemed the break long enough did movement happen. There was still plenty of light out until night fell upon them and they were within reach of the main road by the time the sun disappeared completely. 

Wanting the safety of the small unused roads Steve ordered them to set up for the night, taking the first shift to watch for dangers with Natasha taking the second and Thor the third. None removed their armor nor did they shift for the little comfort their shifted forms provided against the ground. Not even Loki, who could easily slither out his armor with no problem. 

They all grouped in close. Ears sharp and nose sharper, listening and sniffing for anything. Even with someone keeping watch none of them managed to get a restful sleep. Something about the roads sent them on edge. The possibility of someone continuing to travel in the after hours and finding them unprepared causing their instincts to rise. 

By the time the birds began singing with no sun in sight everyone was mostly awake and preparing. Eating quickly and drinking their fill to start the trip all over again. When the sun showed its first rays of light they were already on the main road and making great progress. Steve had continued his pace and surprisingly both Tony and Bruce managed to keep up better than the previous day. The sun wasn’t as harsh in the early hours and before it could even reach its peak clouds trailed in and blocked the worst of it. Soon enough the clouds themselves began turning dark and the smell of upcoming rain became heavy in the air. It relaxed Tony in ways he hadn’t expected on the road. 

The rain had always been so soothing for him. It reminded him of days where he would spend it in his old room with hardly any problems on his shoulders. Hammer always hated the rain and often refused to do anything related to his business or Tony during a huge downpour. The heavy drops caused many problems in his old home that required Hammer’s attention, resulting in Tony spending hours in pure bliss. 

The rain had been his friend, and while it took the cruel edge of the sun and gave them relief on the road it was also a danger to their well-being. Wet clothes with cold winds were not a good combination and the last thing they needed was to fall ill.

They were given a few hours to decide their next move and by sheer luck alone they were able to reach a town along the main road with an inn with the room available before the first drop reached the ground. The rain didn’t appear to be ending within a few hours so they settled to stay for the rest of the day, maybe even through the night. 

Instead of slices and small shares like the previous day, dinner for them all had been lamb stew with plenty of bread. It had been the inn's special. Tony ate under the watchful eye of Steve, his gaze reminding him of how much he hadn’t appreciated Tony starving himself. It was only when he drank the last spoon of the stew did Steve finally nod and dug into his own without distractions.

The rain was still heavy after they were finished. A few of them refused to leave the colorful atmosphere with a full belly of food, deeming it the perfect time to drink in merriment, wanting to enjoy it when they could. It was mostly Thor, and not wanting to back down both Bucky and Clint accepted what would later be considered the bad choice. Rhodey, sensing an opportunity to create a stronger bond between himself and the pack joined in. Jarvis and Vision tagging along with him out of curiosity and wanting the material to mock him with no doubt. For Tony, the idea of lying down and resting was too good to pass. Perhaps a small nap to take the heavy feeling in his tired bones.

The rooms weren't large and weren't many available in the small inn so all of them had to be paired in certain numbers. Some of their packmates were required to rest on the ground, what with some of the rooms only holding one bed that could barely fit two. The owners, an alpha and beta mated couple, were kind enough to let them borrow blankets to soften the hard floors for those unlucky to have claimed a bed. 

Bucky, Natasha, and Bruce shared, just as Thor and Loki shared with Hank and Jan. Rhodey, Sam, and Clint claimed a room of their own. Bucky hadn’t exactly been happy with the idea of sharing with a mated pair but choosing between Natasha and Bruce versus Clint, Sam and Rhodey? It was a no-brainer. The other room had Clint and Sam together. That was enough to make him say no. They had no boundaries and have wanted to get Rhodey between them weeks ago. Nothing was stopping them now. 

By pack hierarchy alone Steve earned a room with only his mate, something Tony was looking forward to. As he made his way to said room he removed pieces of his armor to avoid waking up with iron stabbing his sides. He groaned in relief the moment his back touched the bedding. The previous night’s temporary mattress taking its toll. The hard stones and uneven footing a poor substitute. 

Shortly after getting as comfortable as he could on the strange bed he noticed a guest joining him, mimicking the noises he had previously created and causing the bed to dip from the added weight. The smell of Steve filled his nose when his alpha draped himself over him, using his arm to pull Tony closer. Chest to back and hand tucked just below his belly. 

Warmth and safety playing a huge factor Tony was quick to fall asleep, but he didn’t stay asleep for long. One blink he had been in Steve’s arms with nothing in his mind and no thoughts of copulation and the next a pulsing heat had been formed deep in his abdomen and encouraged by the hand softly rubbing up and down right over his crotch. Upon noticing his wakeful state Steve pressed harder on his way down, earning a groan from him and a reflexive thrust for more. 

While a pleasant surprise, Tony was fairly shocked at the turn of events. With the upcoming danger they were preparing to face he’d assume mating was the last thing in Steve's mind, but there was no denying the impressive erection pushing against him, or the way his body naturally reacted to Steve. 

Steve sniffing at his neck did make him pause for a moment. He had to wonder if Steve had partially shifted and his canine instincts were making an appearance, wanting to smell everything that was Tony and make sure there was no abnormality. 

“Smell something, Steve?” 

Steve nodded against his skin. His nose never leaving its spot. 

“Something bad?” 

A negative hum. “You smell so good, Tony. So good. Sweet. Strong. _Warm._ ”

Sweet was good. Sweet and strong and warm. His alpha apparently loved the combination. “We’ll have to leave them a big tip for this.”

Steve groaned. “Anything.”

It was slow and gentle. His alpha considerate and being extremely careful as he thrusted with the smallest space available. Impatience played a role in how bare they had gotten with Steve only exposing enough of his front for his length to spring free while Tony pulled the back of his pants to reveal his folds. Tony’s body had created just enough slick while he slept through his alpha’s teasing for Steve to slide in with no pain if he went slow. More soon followed as his alpha caressed any available skin and sucked on his neck as if wanting to eat the very smell he seemed to enjoy. 

Steve ended up finishing before Tony reached his own climax. His knot snuggling up between his folds and sending hot seed to settle and burn in his abdomen. It felt so good but didn’t help Tony reach his peak. Not until Steve shoved his hand down his pants and stroked him to completion, thrusting softly with his knot still in place to speed the process. As he calmed down to enjoy the afterglow that same hand moved to splay across his skin protectively, right below his belly.

They probably needed to give the owners a very big tip to make up for this. 

The sounds of droplets hitting the windows created a calm and soothing atmosphere and Tony sighed happily. He enjoyed the moment as long as he could. The contract and imminent danger hanging heavily in their future, and the truth waiting like a dark cloud ready to cause a storm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is BAMF Tony, Bruce and Rhodey. I swear.

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a hi over at my [Tumblr](http://naferty.tumblr.com//)  
> 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Forget me Not (Artwork Inspired By Finding Pack)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6513196) by [StonyStepsUphill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StonyStepsUphill/pseuds/StonyStepsUphill)




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